


Imaginary

by darlinghoots



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I didn't tag underage because both of them are underage, I don't know what else to tag this as, M/M, Multi Chapter, So yeah, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2017-11-25 10:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlinghoots/pseuds/darlinghoots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur moves to a new town and is lonely. Enter Eames his imaginary friend, sent to help him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I found a collage on tumblr, see end notes for the link, and decided to write a story about it.
> 
> And this story is completed. I will try and post chapters as soon as I can.
> 
> Once again, I do not own Inception nor any of the characters.
> 
> Update: This story now has a cute little picture and a fanmix to go with it, thanks to the lovely Sara, aka solutionforreality.
> 
> http://8tracks.com/solutionforreality/where-the-kids-are/edit  
> http://4clovesofsummer.tumblr.com/post/52005034563/quick-ink-sketch-for-kara-featuring-little

The car pulled into the driveway and stopped right next to the sidewalk that lead up to the house. Arthur glanced out the window at what would be his new house. It was nice. It was a two story house that looked like it had been around for a while. But it was in decent shape. It had been repainted white with blue shutters.

 

His mother had called it perfect.

 

Arthur called it a nightmare.

 

Arthur opened the door and stepped out of the car with his book bag on his back. Most of his things had been brought over yesterday. On the essentials were left, which is what he had now.

 

Arthur was not a fan of this move. He liked where he was. He had friends and a life. He did not like change.

 

Now. Now he had nothing. He had to start anew.

 

He had refused to move with his parents, but, since he was still seventeen, he could not legally stay alone. So, here he was.

 

“Doesn’t this look lovely sweetheart?” His mother said with a smile. Arthur glanced over at her for a second before following his father inside. He would not answer that question.

 

The inside was all furnished since his mother had been coming there on the weekends getting everything together.

 

Arthur didn’t spend much time looking around. He made a beeline for his room. He walked up the stairs and to the room that he had been instructed was his.

 

His bed was put up with the sheets and blankets folded nicely for him to do himself. His dressers were all set around the room and boxes of his things were strewn all around the room, ready for him to unpack.

 

He set his book bag down and glanced around at what would now he his sanctuary. He sighed. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

 

Arthur spent most of his time getting his room to look exactly the way he wanted. He wasn’t a man with many possessions. He never did collect anything, he didn’t have posters of his favorite bands or anything like that.

 

He had shelves of books and journals and notebooks. He loved to read. He loved to write. He loved to imagine things greater than what was real. He had notebooks full of stories he had come up with ever since he was thirteen years old.

 

He had journals full of all of his dreams. He could always remember his dreams. He knew all of the details and everything. They were almost like movies in his head. His parents had called it a gift.

 

Arthur called it torture. There were some dreams he would like to remember, but then there were some that he would rather just forget. But now it was habit. No matter how bad the dream was, he always wrote it down. If he didn’t, it would bug him until he gave in and wrote it down.

 

Right now, Arthur was sitting in his room going through a book on dream interpretation. He was trying to figure out what his latest dream could mean. Although most of the dream interpretations were utter shit, some usually gave him some hints.

 

He stopped reading when he heard a soft knock on the door.

 

“Come in.” He said as he looked up. His mother walked in with a big smile on her face. “Yes?” He asked.

 

“I just wanted to remind you that school starts tomorrow.” She said with a smile.

 

“I know.” Did she really think he would forget? “My book bag is already packed and ready to go.” Arthur said with a fake smile. His mom sighed and walked towards him. He moved over as she sat down on the bed next to him.

 

“Honey, I know this has been a big change for you. I know, believe me. But your father had to take this job. And you will like things here.”

 

“It is only a year.” Arthur replied. “I think I can handle that.”

 

“I want you to try Arthur. You had friends before. You can make new friends now.” She reached over and pushed back the hair that was in his face. She gave him a squint and pulled his glasses off. “You need new glasses.”

 

“I will be fine.” He reached over and grabbed them out of her hand and put them back on.

 

“But you need to try. Things will not happen themselves. You have to make things happen yourself.” Arthur nodded.

 

“Yeah, alright mom.” She gave him another smile before kissing him on the forehead and leaving him alone.

* * *

 

School was hell. There was no other way to describe it.

 

Everyone knew that Arthur was new. Everyone. So, naturally that means that everyone avoids him like he was the plague.

 

He had the fair few that smiled at him, but no one really made the effort to talk to him. Not that Arthur made the effort to talk to them.

 

Now, Arthur had to small displeasure of being sort of small. He was tall, but he was lean. He had no muscle. So, when someone ran into him and he flew into the locker, it was easy for others to join in on the fun.

 

So, all day, the same group of guys led by a man Arthur thought was named Nash, shoved him into lockers.

 

Seriously, he was going to have bruises tomorrow.

 

The only positive thing was that he actually liked his classes. So at least he was going to be learning something while being in this hell-hole.

* * *

 

Arthur’s whole first week continued like that.

 

Every morning, Nash would push him into his locker and the surrounding people would laugh.

 

There was one woman, Arthur had seen, would always look upset by Arthur being bullied, but she never did anything about it. She merely just shook her head and walked away.

 

What good would she do? Arthur didn’t even know her name. He had no classes with her.

 

Arthur figured that the right thing to do would probably tell his parents, but in reality, there was nothing they could do. In the end, it would just get him bullied more.

 

He would adapt and he would get used to it. It was just what Arthur did. It was how he survived. He had done it before and he would do it again.

* * *

 

Arthur stormed into his room, slamming the door shut. He was mad. No, not just mad, he was pissed.

 

Today had been the worst day of school. Ever.

 

It started off like any other normal day. He got shoved into his locker by Nash. Nothing new. It had been like that every day since he had moved here. He knew nothing had changed. Even if it had been a few months.

 

But then, at lunch, Nash had taken it a step further. He had tripped Arthur in the lunch room, and Arthur had fallen, spilling his food everywhere. The whole cafeteria had laughed. Arthur had never felt so embarrassed before.

 

Arthur didn’t even bother picking up the food on the floor, he just got up and ran to the bathroom to clean himself up.

 

Then, in his last class, they were discussing _The Catcher in the Rye_ , one of Arthur’s favorite books, and Arthur was giving his opinion on the matter when Nash made a joke about him, in front of the whole class.

 

Seriously?

 

And the teacher didn’t do anything. She just ignored the comment and went on with class.

 

Arthur was trying. He really was. He was trying to learn and to be a good student, but this was almost getting ridiculous.

 

He had been going to this school for three months now. He had yet to make a single friend. He had tried to talk to people. He did. He would try and make conversation with the people who sat around him but that didn’t really stick.

 

And lunch was the worse. Arthur would sit at a table all by himself. No one would even bother to sit with him. It got to be too embarrassing that Arthur took to eating outside.

 

Arthur crashed on his bed and couldn’t help the tears that had now appeared. He tried to be strong. He considered himself a strong person, but this. This was too much.

 

Arthur wanted a normal life with normal friends and above all. He wanted to be happy. Really, it wasn’t too much to ask for. He knew high school was hell, but he never expected it to be like this.

 

Especially since it was his last year.

 

He rolled over and stared at his ceiling.

 

“All I want is a friend, is that too much to ask for?” He said with a sigh as he rolled on his side and looked out his window. It was raining now.

 

He wanted someone who knew him. He wanted someone who would laugh at his jokes and would hang out with him and would never abandon him, no matter what.

 

He wanted someone he could go to and talk to and tell all his secrets to. Everyone deserved someone like that. Why didn’t he?

 

Would he be doomed to be alone forever?

 

He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep. He would dream of a happier life where he had friends and was happy. Although the bad part of dreaming is that you always had to wake up and face reality.

* * *

 

Arthur was in the middle of doing his own little musical number when he could hear something in the distance. It sounded like humming. Really bad humming if he was going to be honest.

 

He stopped and looked around. Where was that coming from? He looked around as buildings started to collapse and his dream started to fall apart.

 

He opened his eyes to a man sitting cross legged on his bed, two feet next to him. And he was smiling at him.

 

“Why hello darling.” Arthur bolted up and fell off the bed.

 

“Who the hell are you?” Arthur screamed. The man just laughed.

 

“Are you okay? That looked like a nasty tumble.” The man was British. Seriously, what was a British man doing in his bedroom? Shouldn’t British men being in Britain?

 

“Who are you?” Arthur asked again, not moving from his spot on the floor. He was close to the door. He could make a quick escape if he needed to.

 

“My name is Eames.” The man said with another smile. Arthur could see a crooked tooth in his smile. Of course.

 

“Okay. Eames.” Arthur said calmly. “Would you be kind enough to explain to me why you are in my bedroom?” Eames gave a little chuckle.

 

“Well, it is quite simple. You asked me to come, so I did.”

 

“I did not ask you to come. I think I would remember asking for a British man to be in my room.”

 

“Oh but you did Arthur.” Eames said as he moved closer to the edge of the bed. “You asked for a friend, so here I am.” Arthur’s face fell.

 

“I think I am going crazy.”

 

“Oh you are very much sane. Although there are some things I will need to explain to you, but it can wait until morning. But know, I am here to be your friend. Anything you need, I can help you with.”

 

Arthur just stared at him. He had to be dreaming. He had to be. He stood up slowly and Eames just looked at him.

 

“Um.” He said quietly. “How did you know I asked for a friend?” Eames just smiled.

 

“It is my job. I hear everything. And I heard your cry and came right away. I am here to help you Arthur.”

 

“Look, I don’t know if you realize this, but this is really weird. So, I am going to leave and get something to eat. And when I come back, you will be gone.” Arthur slowly backed away to the door before turning and leaving his room.

 

Ten minutes later when he went back to his room, it was empty.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur woke up early the next morning. He guessed it was habit now, with school and all that. The first thing he did was look around the room and make sure the guy was not there. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that he was, in fact, still alone in his room.

 

He then realized that is today was Saturday. No school. Good. He would get the whole weekend to lick his wounds so he would be able to be strong and go to school on Monday and act like nothing had happened.

 

He pulled himself from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. A nice warm shower would be the perfect thing to wake him up. Arthur always loved showering in the morning. It helped wake him up and prepare him for the day. It was also quite refreshing.

 

Arthur stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He walked over to the sink and put his glasses on and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair, since wet, set straight down. Arthur quickly ran his fingers through it, messing it up before leaving the bathroom.

 

“Arthur?” He turned and saw his mother walking towards him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“How is everything?” She asked and Arthur just gave her a confused look.

 

“Huh?”

 

“School and all that. You came home sort of mad yesterday.”

 

“Oh, yeah. Just a bad day. Nothing to worry about.” He gave her a small smile before walking away.

 

“You can talk to me, you know.” He gave her another nod before going to his room. He knew he could talk to his parents. The thing was, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want them to worry. They didn’t need to deal with his problems.

 

“Hello darling.” Arthur jumped and looked over towards the sound of the voice. There, sitting on his bed, was the guy. Eames.

 

“What are you doing here?” Arthur hissed out as he shut the door. He did not need his parents hearing the strange man in his room.

 

“I told you, I am here to help you. To be a friend.” Arthur just looked at him.

 

“I told you to leave.”

 

“And I did, but I came back. It is my job. I just can’t abandon you. Not when you need me.” Arthur took a deep breath. Maybe humoring the guy would help him out. Unless he was going crazy, then this might make him even crazier.

 

“Look, if I let you stay, you are going to explain everything to me. Okay.”

 

“Fine by me. Like I said last night, there are rules with me being here.” Arthur nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He had to be going crazy. He looked over at Eames again.

 

He didn’t really get to check too much about him last night. Today was wearing an ugly coral shirt with some khaki pants. His hair was gelled over to the side in a bad comb over. He looked like he was trying to be older than what he really was. Arthur had no idea why. He didn’t seem too old, he didn’t need to age himself.

 

Being fairly honest, Eames was a very good looking guy. He had some weird features, like his teeth, his lips and his nose, but them all together somehow make him look perfect. Wait. What was he thinking? Bad thoughts. Bad Arthur. He did not need to be thinking like that. He looked away and took a deep breath before walking over to his closet and pulling out something to wear.

 

“Um, could you leave so I can get dressed?” He asked as he looked over at Eames. Eames just smirked.

 

“Alright my little modest friend.” And just like that, Eames was gone. Arthur smiled. That was easy. He quickly got dressed just in case Eames came back early.

 

Sure they were both men, but there was something different about Eames. Arthur was not just going to give him a free show. Not that Arthur wanted to show Eames anything. That was not the case at all.

 

He grabbed his bag and quietly left his room. It was a nice day out, considering it had rained the night before, so he decided he would spend the day outside. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

They did live by a park. Maybe he could have some time alone there. It was nice to be alone sometimes. Being alone all the time was the problem. But every once in a while, it was good.

 

The park was surprisingly vacant. It was still early though. From what Arthur had noticed, most of the children come in the afternoon. Arthur found a spot by a tree and sat down. He pulled out his dream book and started reading.

 

“So you like dreams?” Arthur jumped and looked over. There sitting next to him was Eames. Smirking at him. “You left so I followed you here.”

 

“How did you get passed my parents?” Eames chuckled and Arthur realized it was a stupid question. Eames could disappear at will. So it was probably easy to get passed his parents.

 

“Well, it is one of the rules.” Arthur shut his book and turned so he could fully pay attention to Eames.

 

“Okay, so, tell me these so called rules.” Really, there were rules to this so called friendship.

 

“Well rule one, you aren’t really allowed to talk about me to other people.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Well, it goes along with rule two, which is only you can see me.” Arthur’s eyes widened.

 

“So right now, it looks like I am talking to thin air?”

 

“Yes.” Eames replied with a little smile.

 

“So, are you like Hobbes or something?” Eames gave him a confused look.

 

“Hobbes?”

 

“Calvin and Hobbes? It is a comic. Hobbes is his stuffed tiger and imaginary friend.” Eames still looked confused. “Never mind.”

 

“Alright. But if you talk about me to other people, thinks get complicated and then I have to go away. But I can go with you to places and give you some advice, but other people can’t ever see me. It is sort of a punishment for me.”

 

“Punishment?” Arthur asked, leaning forward a bit.

 

“Another day for that lovely story.” Eames said with a small smile.

 

“So, why exactly are you my friend? I have been lonely for months now.”

 

“You finally asked for one. I couldn’t just come unless you asked. And I told you, it is my job. People like me, this is what we do. We see a child in need and we go them.”

 

“So if I was five, you would be an adult friend to a five year old?” Arthur said with a little laugh. “Because that is kind of creepy.” Eames gave a little chuckle and Arthur found that Eames had a very beautiful smile.

 

“No. We can change our appearance for the child. If the child was five, we would be five and grow up with them until they don’t need us anymore.” Arthur just looked at him.

 

This all just seemed so unreal. Things like this didn’t really happen in real life. It was almost like a some bedtime story or something.

 

“I’m sorry, but this just seems like bullshit to me.”

 

“Believe what you want Arthur, but I am not going anywhere.” Arthur looked over and saw that Eames smiling at him.

 

“Whatever.” Arthur said as he leaned back against the tree and opened his book again.

* * *

 

Arthur walked back into his room, followed by Eames. Eames had not said a single thing the entire time they were at the park. He just sat there and watched him.

 

It was creepy and it drove Arthur crazy, which was why he came back early.

 

“So, you said you were supposed to help me. Are you going to tell me how? Because if you are just going to sit and watch me, I can tell you it will get old real quick.” He asked as he turned and faced Eames. Eames just smiled and walked over and sat down on the bed.

 

“Well, you need to tell me more about yourself Arthur, if I am to help you.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be all knowing?” Arthur asked, sitting across from him. “I mean, you knew I asked for a friend.”

 

“I am, but it seems more helpful if you tell me about yourself. You know, I want to know what you want.”

 

“I just want a friend. I want people who don’t judge me. I don’t want to be bullied. I want to be normal. Like everyone else.”

 

“Being normal isn’t always the best way to go about things. Everyone is abnormal in their own way. And bullying is a fact of life. It happens everywhere. You just have to not let it get to you. But the friend thing I can help you with. Tell me, do you talk to anyone at school?”

 

“No, hence me being lonely.”

 

“Come on Arthur, there has to be someone you talk to, even if it is only a few words.”

 

“There is this one guy, Dom. I think that is his name. He is in my English class. Sometimes we talk, but it is only for a few minutes. Nothing really too special. It is usually about homework or about tests.”

 

“Well, we shall start with him. On Monday, I want you to start a conversation with him.”

 

“What? What do I have to talk about?”

 

“Um, why don’t you try English?” Arthur gave him a glare.

 

“Gee, thanks Sherlock. I never would have thought of that.”

 

“I’m just saying. You need to try. Make an effort. Have some imagination. Things are not going to come free you know.”

 

“Like you? Is there a price I pay in the end for your services?” Eames’ face fell. Arthur didn’t mean to offend him.

 

“No. I’m free.” Eames looked out the window and Arthur saw sadness in his eyes. There was something that Eames was hiding from him. There was more to Eames then he let on and Arthur would find out.

* * *

 

When Monday came, Eames didn’t go to school with Arthur. At night, Eames disappeared and Arthur really didn’t know where he went, but he didn’t question it. And Eames didn’t really appear in the morning until much later, so Arthur figured that he would see Eames after school.

 

Arthur was at his locker putting his books away and getting ready for class when Eames appeared.

 

“Nash is coming. Go to class.” Arthur was a little entranced by Eames just appearing out of thin air, he didn’t really comprehend what Eames had said.

 

“What?” Arthur said as he closed his locker.

 

“Go.” Eames said forcibly. Arthur nodded and hurried to class, not asking questions.

 

When English came, Arthur walked into class and sat down next to Dom like he had done every day. Arthur needed to remain calm and not overdo this. He did not want to look like an idiot.

 

“Hey.” Arthur said with a small smile. Dom looked over and smiled.

 

“Hey Arthur.” Arthur pulled out his book and notebook as the bell rang. Dom knew his name. That was a good start.

 

At the end of class, the teacher announced that there was going to be a partner project. Great. She wanted them to start thinking about ideas and who to partner with and all those wonderful details that went with partner projects.

 

“Arthur.” He looked over and saw Dom looking at him.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Listen, would you want to be partners for that?”

 

“Um, sure.” Arthur said with a smile. The bell rang. End of class and the end of the day. Arthur thought it would never come.

 

“Great.” Dom said as he stood up. “We will talk later. I will try and brainstorm some ideas. You too.” Arthur nodded as Dom walked out.

 

“You see, was that so hard?” He looked over and saw Eames smiling at him.

 

“We are partners, nothing else. Partner projects usually never end up in friendship.” Arthur whispered as he gathered up his things and walked towards the door. When he was a couple feet from the door, he fell face first on the floor.

 

“That’s for running off before first period.” Nash hissed out. Arthur looked up just quick enough to see Nash smack straight into the door. The door that had been open seconds before. He didn’t even see it close.

 

Arthur pulled himself up with a small smile as Eames walked back through the door that Nash had forced open and run out of faster than bat out of hell.

 

“Blimey bastard.” Arthur just smiled and walked through the hallway with a smile on his face, Eames next to him, commenting on all of the students.

 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

 

“So, when does the project begin?” Eames asked as he looked at Arthur’s bookcase.

 

The walk home had been very interesting. Eames talked about when he was in school and how things have changed since then. Eames also questioned Arthur why he didn’t have a car (reason 1 being that they lived close to the school, and reason 2 being Arthur had no money for one).

 

It was nice. Arthur had almost forgotten what it was like having an actual conversation with another person other than his parents.

 

“Um, in a couple of weeks. She just wanted us to be prepared for it and start thinking about what we are going to do for it. You know, brainstorm and all that.” Arthur replied as he finished a Calculus problem. Eames gave a small hum in response.

 

“Are all these notebooks full?” Eames asked as he picked up one. Arthur looked up to see what he was talking about then quickly ran off the bed and made a grab for the notebook.

 

“Don’t! Those are private!” He shouted, but instead of running into Eames, he ran straight through him and hit the bookshelf, causing it to wobble and knocking some notebooks on the floor.

 

He had gone through Eames. Like literally. He knew that Eames was sort of imaginary, but still, he thought he would have been somewhat solid. He slowly turned around and saw Eames looking at him.

 

They just stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Arthur spoke up.

 

“Are you a ghost?” He asked. Eames laughed.

 

“You could say that.” Eames said as he walked back towards the bed.

 

“So that whole imaginary friend line was bullshit?”

 

“No. I am not here to haunt you. I am here to help you.”

 

“Why can’t you just be honest with me and tell me about why you are here? It can’t be that bad.”

 

“Because you don’t need to know!” Eames shouted. Arthur took a step back at the force of his voice. Eames let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. Maybe when the time is right, I will tell you, but not now.”

 

“Okay.” Arthur whispered out.

 

“Well, I think that is enough for today. I will see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight Arthur.” And just like that, Eames was gone.

 

Arthur just stared at the area Eames had just been moments before. 

 

He knelt down and put his notebooks back before grabbing a clean one. He walked over to his bed and sat down. He opened his notebook and started to compile everything he knew about Eames.

 

He would figure all of this out.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur squinted his eyes open when he heard his alarm go off. He sighed and reached out and shut it off. He didn’t sleep much last night because of the storm. Usually the rain would put him to sleep, but not that night. It was too early to be getting up for school.

 

He rolled over to face the other wall and found that he was face to face with Eames.

 

“Morning.” Eames said with a smile. Arthur let out a loud scream and rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a loud thump, taking all the blankets with him. He heard Eames chuckling as his bedroom door slammed open.

 

“Arthur?” He looked up and saw his father standing there with a concerned look on his face.

 

“Yes.” He said as calmly as he could. He was still trying to calm his heart down.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I just, um, had a nightmare.”

 

“Must have been intense, since you are on the floor.” Arthur gave a small chuckle.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, hurry up and get ready. Your mother made breakfast.” Arthur nodded as his father left the room. He then turned his attention to Eames giving him his best glare he could come up with.

 

And Eames just looked at him with a smile that said he was the most innocent man in the world. Well it would not work on Arthur.

 

“That looked like a nasty tumble. Are you alright?”

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Do I really need to explain it to you again?” Arthur rolled his eyes as he pulled himself up from the floor.

 

“No. I meant why are you here now? In my bed? Watching me sleep? It is very creepy, you know.” Eames just smiled.

 

“You look so at peace when you sleep. Did you know that?” Arthur paused for a second. That was a very weird thing to ask.

 

“No I did not know that because I do not watch myself sleep. And you still haven’t answered my question.” Arthur grabbed his glasses off of his night stand and quickly put them on before walking over to his closet.

 

“Well, today is the day that your partner project officially starts. I wanted to be here for support. You know, give you words of encouragement.”

 

“Right. Well, how about I meet you outside when I go to school.” He answered as he looked back at Eames. Eames was sitting cross legged on his bed just smiling at him. “You can encourage me all the way there.”

 

He was way too happy for being someone who was apparently dead.

“Alright. See you in a bit.” Arthur didn’t even bother looking to see him disappear. He had seen it every night for the past two weeks. And it was still too early to care.

 

He grabbed his clothes and made his way to the bathroom to shower. Today was going to be a long day, he could already tell.

* * *

 

It had been two weeks since Eames first showed up in Arthur’s bedroom that fateful night. And two weeks may not be a long time, but Arthur had actually begun to like Eames.

 

He was everything Arthur had wished for. He was there for Arthur, all the time, and he always had a smile on his face. A smile that was almost impossible to resist. You see it and instantly, you smile back.

 

Eames asked Arthur about his day and listened to Arthur when Arthur ranted about school and stupid people, or even just to talk about his dreams.

 

It was nice. Arthur had grown incredibly close to Eames these past two weeks, he almost forgot that he was the only one that could see Eames. That Eames wasn’t really real.

 

Arthur stepped out of the shower and quickly got dressed.  As he walked downstairs, he could smell pancakes and instantly, he smiled. His mom did make the best pancakes.

 

He gave her his best smile as he sat down at the table.

 

“You are in a good mood.” She said as she set a plate down in front of him. Arthur just shrugged. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“Not really, since there is nothing to talk about. Maybe I am happy about the pancakes.” His mother just gave a small smile before walking out of the kitchen.

 

Arthur walked to school with Eames by his side. Eames was chattering away like he always did. Arthur just learned to zone out through the uninteresting parts. Eames didn’t even notice.

 

“So, have you come up with a topic for this short story?” He asked. Arthur nodded. He didn’t really tell Eames his ideas, wanting to make it a surprise, and to not be too upset when his ideas were shot out the window by Dom.

 

“Dreams.”

 

“Brilliant. Now, I want you to fight for your idea. Don’t just let Dom step all over it. Fight for what you want. This is a partner project.”

 

“Yeah, okay.” Arthur said with a small shrug.

 

“I mean it Arthur.”

 

“I thought I was supposed to be making friends.”

 

“You are.”

 

“Well, how am I supposed to make friends if they hate me for standing up to them?”

 

“They are supposed to respect that. Not judge you for it.”

 

“Yeah, whatever.” The school came into view. This was where Eames usually left him. “I will meet you here, after school?” Arthur added. Eames just nodded.

 

“Alright. Good luck. I will be watching.” Arthur nodded and turned and walked towards the school, because the idea of Eames watching him was SO comforting.

* * *

 

Arthur walked into English like usual and sat down next to Dom, like usual. Today had seriously dragged on. It was like it knew that Arthur was dreading last period.

 

“Hey Arthur.” Dom said with a smile.

 

“Hey.”

 

“So, I was thinking, maybe we could go to the library after school, you know, discuss ideas and all that? It will be much quieter there and we can have our privacy.”

 

“Sure.” Arthur said with a nod.

 

“Great.” Dom said with a small smile.

 

The library was pretty vacant when they got there. Dom seemed to know his way around it pretty well so Arthur just followed him. He hadn’t had time to go to the library as much as he wanted to. Only for assignments, and even then, he just got his books and left.

 

Dom found them a nice table away from everyone and started getting his notebooks out. Arthur sat down and did the same.

 

“So, I came up with some character ideas.” Dom said. “I couldn’t really come up with any plot ideas besides espionage. But I have some good character stories.”

 

“That is better than what I got. All I have is dreams.” Dom just looked at him, studying him.

 

“Interesting. I am sure we can incorporate that into it.” Well, that was easy. He had been dreading this for days because he thought that Dom would veto his ideas in a second. “What exactly were you thinking about with dreams?”

 

“I don’t know. I can just remember my dreams very clearly, so what if there was some sort of work with dreams, like remembering them or something.”

 

“Or stealing people’s dreams?” Dom added with a smile. Arthur smiled back. “This is going to be good.” Dom quickly started scribbling plot points on his notebook as Arthur contributed some of his own ideas.

 

They ended up spending two hours in the library.

 

They would both contribute ideas to the story, but Dom would also ask questions about Arthur and vice versa. Dom and Arthur really did have a lot in common. It was great. Arthur couldn’t believe he had been so nervous about this.

 

“Dom?” Arthur turned at the feminine voice. A woman walked over to the table.

 

“Hey Mal. Just give me a minute.” Oh, so that was Mal. Dom had mentioned her a few times in the two hours they were here.

 

Mal was beautiful. She had long brown hair and bright brown eyes. She was French. She had transferred there her freshman year and apparently her and Dom hit it off and had been dating ever since.

 

As Arthur looked at her closer, he realized that he had seen her before. She was the girl that had always watched Nash beat him up with an upset look on her face. Hmmm. What a coincidence?

 

“You must be Arthur.” She said with a smile.

 

“Yeah. It is nice to meet you Mal.”

 

“Does Nash still give you trouble?” She asked.

 

“Um sometimes.” Arthur replied quietly. Nash had let up a little bit, but still, getting slammed into your locker every day is not a pleasant experience.

 

“Dom will speak with him so that it doesn’t happen again.” She said with a reassuring smile.

 

“You don’t have to…”

 

“It is nothing. Nash is an asshole anyways.” Dom added. “I’m sorry I have to leave. Mal and I had plans. I will see you in class and we can plan more.” Arthur nodded and watched as they left.

 

“Well, that ended up quite well, if I do say so myself.” Arthur jumped and turned and saw Eames sitting at the table. Really, Arthur should just learn to expect Eames to show up all the time.

 

“Yes, yes it did.” Arthur said with a smile. “Dom is a really great guy. And we have a lot in common.”

 

“Ah, well, that is the first step in friendship.” Arthur just smiled as he collected his things. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

 

“So,” Arthur asked as he fell down on his bed. “How many children have you been imaginary friends to?” Eames put his hands in his pockets as he slowly walked over to the bed and just looked outside.

 

“Does it really matter?” Arthur sat up and looked at him.

 

“For the past two weeks, we have been talking about me. Can’t we talk about you for once?” Eames slowly sat down on the bed.

 

“I am really not that interesting.” Arthur sighed.

 

“Eames. This is just one thing. I think I have the right to know a little about the guy who is my friend. I mean, isn’t that how friendship works?”

 

“Fine. I have been an imaginary friend, as you put it, for three other children.”

 

“Only three?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What were their names?”

 

“Does it matter what their names were?”

 

“I am just curious.” Eames sighed and was silent for a bit.

 

“There was Miles, Andrew, and Matthew.”

 

“All boys?” Arthur asked.

 

“Well, it would seem weird for a boy to the imaginary friend of a girl, right?”

 

“It could be. Depends how you look at it.” Arthur replied honestly.

 

“Well, regardless, I have only worked with three other children, and you make four.”

 

“Can you tell me about them?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Part of the job.” Arthur sighed.

 

“Can you at least tell me how old they were?”

 

“Um, Miles was 10, Andrew was 11, and Matthew was 5.”

 

“Oh. So why did you pick me? I am way older than all of them.” Eames was silent for a bit but Arthur was patient.

 

“I don’t know. I guess there was something different with you. Your pain was so intense that I just couldn’t refuse.” Arthur just nodded. “And, I think you and I were a lot alike. I didn’t have a friend and I didn’t want you to end up like me.” Arthur just stared at him. He had never seen Eames look so heartbroken before.

 

“Well, I am glad that you are here, if that makes you feel better.” Eames smiled at him and Arthur couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“That does make me feel better. Thanks Arthur.”

 

Looking at Eames now, Arthur knew he had pegged him wrong. He didn’t really see himself in Eames, but then again, he didn’t know anything about Eames. All he knew was that Eames was hurting.

 

But what could he possibly be so upset about?

 

“Arthur! Dinner is ready.” His mother shouted.

 

“Alright.” Arthur shouted back. “Eames I…” He looked over but found that Eames was gone. Arthur just shrugged and left his room for dinner. He would talk to Eames more tomorrow.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

“So, do you dream often?” Eames asked from the bed. The same bed that he was now laying on, like he did every night. Arthur on the other hand, was sitting at his desk, writing in his dream journal. He had found some interesting findings in one of his books today. So, naturally, he had to write them down as soon as possible.

 

“Yes.” Arthur said as he finished his sentence. “I usually dream almost every night.” He said as he turned around in his chair.

 

“Isn’t that a bit unhealthy?” Arthur just shrugged.

 

“I got used to it after a while. Now it is just habit for me. But really, I think everyone dreams almost every night, they just don’t remember them, unlike me.” Eames sat up.

 

“But, didn’t you say your dreams were quite intense? That can’t be healthy.”

 

“Sometimes. But it’s not like I can forget about them.”

 

“Have you ever tried to control your dreams?”

 

“You mean lucid dreaming?”

 

“Don’t be condescending, Arthur.”

 

“Sorry, but yes, I do try and control my dreams, it just doesn’t really work like that. It is more along the lines that know that you are dreaming. Nothing really happens. You can’t change your dream.”

 

“Oh. That sounds incredibly boring.” Arthur just rolled his eyes before asking his next question.

 

“Do you dream, Eames?”

 

“What do you mean?” Eames asked as he pulled his knees up to his chest. Arthur stood up and sat down next to him on the bed.

 

“I mean, when you sleep, do you dream?”

 

“Well, I don’t really sleep. At least, not as much as you do.”

 

“What do you do when you leave here? There has to be a place that you go to or something.”

 

“I don’t really leave.” Arthur gave him a confused look. “I am still here, just invisible. Some days I just wonder around the house, or the town. It all depends on how I feel.”

 

“So you don’t dream?”

 

“I didn’t say that. There are some days when I do sleep. It isn’t like your sleep, mind you, but it is sleep for people like me. And yes, I do dream. I dream all the time.”

 

“What things do you dream about?” Arthur asked as he leaned forward, intrigued. Who knows what type of things a ghost like being could dream about? Eames has probably seen things Arthur hasn’t even thought of.

 

“I only dream about one thing.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

“Living.”

 

“Living?”

 

“Yes. I would give anything to be real. To be alive again. To just live. I dream about it all the time, hoping that one day, when I wake up, it will be true.” When Arthur looked over, he saw tears in Eames’ eyes.

 

Arthur did feel bad for him. Seeing Eames like this was so heartbreaking. Eames was always a ray of sunshine. And seeing this small appearance of vulnerability, you couldn’t help but feel his pain.

 

“Eames.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

“You can ask. But I can’t promise you an answer.”

 

“How old are you? I mean, how old are you permanently. I know you can change your age, but at the end of the day, what age are you?” Eames was silent for a bit before he let out a small chuckle.

 

“You know. I honestly don’t remember.”

 

“How can you not remember your own age?”

 

“Well, after a while, everything sort of blends together. You forget certain details.”

 

“Oh.” Eames turns and smiles at him.

 

“But, this is what is looked like. Back then. If that makes you feel better. I can’t really age.” Arthur let out a small smile.

 

“Glad to know I am seeing the real you.” Eames smiled.

 

“Me too.”

* * *

 

“So, how exactly do you want to do the dream work?” Dom said as he and Arthur walked through the hallway. They didn’t have time to work after school today. Dom had plans with Mal so he had to cancel their meeting. “You are the expert in this.” Arthur laughed.

 

“Not exactly an expert.”

 

“But you dream all the time. I say that makes you the expert.”

 

“Well,” Arthur said as he opened the door. “I think control of the dreams would be ideal.”

 

“That would be interesting. They could control the dreams so it would be better for them to steal the secrets.”

 

“Yeah.” Arthur said with a small smile. He glanced over and saw Eames waiting for him in their usual spot.

 

“We also need to determine how we are going to present it too. But that is for another day. I will see you later Arthur.”

 

“Bye.” Arthur said with a smile as he turned and made his way towards Eames.

 

To say Arthur was happier was an understatement. He was beyond happy. This past month has done wonders for Arthur. And it was all thanks to Eames.

 

If Eames hadn’t showed up, who knew where Arthur would be right now. He would probably still be a recluse. With Eames’ help, he now had a friend. Well, friends, if you count Mal.

 

She came around sometimes when he and Dom were working and she seemed to really enjoy talking to Arthur. She did it non-stop. She asked more questions than Eames did.

 

Also, true to their word, Dom did talk to Nash and the bullying did stop. Nash still glared at him, and may have said some things, but it was never physical.

 

“Hey.” Arthur said as he approached the area Eames was standing.

 

“How was school today?” Eames had slowly stopped coming to school with Arthur. Before he would stop at their spot, but then, sometime in the day he would appear just to say hi and to check up on him. Usually it was at lunch so Arthur didn’t have to eat alone. But now he ate with Dom and Mal.

 

“Good. Dom had a date with Mal, so that’s why we were done early.”

 

“Right. You know, you need to do that as well.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Date.” Arthur laughed.

 

“Right. Me? Date? Eames, that is ludicrous.” Arthur saw Eames’ face fall.

 

“Why is it ludicrous?”

 

“No one would want to date me.”

 

“I would date you.” Eames said quietly. Arthur knew Eames had not meant for Arthur to hear it. But he did. Arthur stopped walking immediately.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

“Nothing.” Eames said quickly. “Why do you think that no one would date you?” Arthur would ignore the change of subject this time because he knew Eames would not admit to what he had just admitted.

 

And, Arthur did not want to think about what it meant.

 

“I don’t know. I just, you know, never really thought about it.”

 

That was a lie. Back at his old school, he had a friend, Michael. They had been friends since they were both in grade school. Arthur knew everything about Michael and Michael knew everything about Arthur. They were almost like siblings. Almost.

 

In his freshmen year, things changed. Arthur had always assumed that he was into men. He just never had crushes on girls. His mom always questioned him about it, but he never thought about it. Girls just didn’t interest him.

 

But Michael did.

 

Arthur loved being with him and just being around him made Arthur happy. The happiest he has ever been. That was one of the reasons Arthur didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to leave Michael.

 

Not that him and Michael were anywhere close to being together, but he was the only person Arthur ever wanted to be with and he did not want to leave him.

 

And he hasn’t heard from him since.

 

“Well, you better get thinking about it.” Eames said with a small smile.

 

“It is just high school.” Arthur said, supplying the tone that he did not want to discuss this anymore.

 

“Yes. But you could regret it later on.” Eames said as he strolled forward. Arthur just sighed as he followed him to his house.

 

“I doubt that.” Arthur added, earning a small look from Eames. Eames would not win this argument. Arthur would not let him.

* * *

 

Arthur made his way through the library. It was Saturday and well, Eames didn’t show up that morning so Arthur just left without him. Knowing Eames, he would just appear when it was most convenient to him.

 

Arthur really had no idea how to navigate this library but he was too chicken to ask for help. Dom had asked Arthur to research chemicals to help come up with names for some of the chemicals involved in their story.

 

And of course, Arthur was clueless about chemistry. Sure he had taken the class and gotten an A, but that did not mean he remembered any of it. He was better with details.

 

“May I help you?” Arthur turned and saw a girl standing there. At least, she looked like a girl. She was quite short and looked like she belonged in middle school. But Arthur had seen her before. She was the same age as him.

 

She dated that Robert Fischer kid, one of the richest kids in the school. But Arthur couldn’t remember her name. He knew it was something weird and complicated.

 

“Um, yes. I am, um, looking for books on Chemistry.” He asked. “I have no idea where to find things in here.” The girl gave a little laugh.

 

“Right, well, you are still new. And trust me, you aren’t the only one… um, Arthur, is that right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I am Ariadne.” Well, Arthur was right about it being weird and complicated. “I have a friend, Yusuf, he is like, amazing in Chemistry, and he can help you out.” She then turned around and walked off. Arthur quickly followed behind her, trying to memorize the layout of the library.

 

It was no use.

 

She brought him back to the front desk where a man was sitting, reading a book.

 

“Yusuf.” She said with a big smile. “Can you help out Arthur?”

 

“Sure.” He said as he closed his book and turned to look at Arthur. “What can I help you with?”

 

“Um, chemistry.” Arthur said as he adjusted his book bag he had brought to carry the books he was bringing home. He did always like to be prepared.

 

“I thought you would be perfect for it.” Ariadne piped in. Arthur didn’t even register she was still there. But she was. She was standing almost awkwardly, just staring at them.

 

“Well, I can point out some books I have found useful. You aren’t in any advanced chemistry classes, so why do you need it?”

 

“Project.” Arthur said with a small smile.

 

“Ah, you mean the one with Dom?” Ariadne added in again. Really, did she like stalk him?”

 

“Ah, you must be the Arthur. Dom has mentioned you before.” Yusuf added with a smile.

 

“You know him?”

 

“Yeah.” Ariadne butted in. “We all hang out sometimes.”

 

“Oh.” Dom had never mentioned them before. Maybe they weren’t as good as friends as he thought. Well, it has only been a month. Dom wasn’t required to tell Arthur every last detail about his life.

 

“Well, just chill out here, I will be back with some books.” Yusuf said as he walked away. Arthur just stood there awkwardly with Ariadne watching his every move.

 

She was cute, if that was even the right word to use. She had long wavy brown hair and bright brown doe eyes that looked like she could get away with anything, even murder, with just a look.

 

If Arthur had been interested in women, she would probably be his type.  Of course, she was taken. But, it is the thought that counts.

 

“So, do you like Dom?” She asked.

 

“Um, yeah. He is nice.”

 

“He talks about you a lot. You should hang out with us more. It will be fun.” Arthur smiled.

 

“I would like that.” She smiled back like she had just won the lottery.

 

“Great!” Arthur could tell she was fighting the urge to hug him. Luckily Yusuf came back with five books.

 

Yeah, Arthur was very grateful he brought his bag. It would have been hell carrying all those back to his house, especially since he had walked here.

 

It took Yusuf five minutes to check the books out for him and Arthur was soon on his way with the promise of a get together soon. But he wasn’t alone for very long.

 

“Well, that was nice.” Eames said, appearing next to him.

 

“Yeah, it was. They both seem nice. And they are friends with Dom.”

 

“That is brilliant.” Eames said with a big ass grin that Arthur knew something bad was coming up. “That girl, Ariadne, she is quite a catch, wouldn’t you say?” Arthur was sure if Eames could, he would be nudging him right now.

 

“She is nice.”

 

“She was flirting with you in there.”

 

“She was not.”

 

“She could not stop looking at you. It was so very obvious. I am sure everyone could tell.”

 

“Eames, don’t start this again…”

 

“I am just telling you what I saw. And as an observer, I saw that she was totally into you.”

 

“And I am telling you she is not. She does have a boyfriend you know.”

 

“No, I didn’t know that. But she was still into you.”

 

“Well,” Arthur said as he stopped and turned to look at him. “Even if she was interested in me, I wouldn’t date her.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because I am not interested in her. I am not interested in anybody.” Eames was silent for a bit.

 

“Right. Well, sorry I brought it up.” Arthur groaned. Eames was mad at him, although Arthur didn’t know why. He had told him before that he didn’t want to date anybody right now.

 

“Eames. Look, I’m sorry.” Arthur said as he pushed his glasses up his nose.  “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I am glad you are trying to help, I just don’t want to date anyone right now.”

 

“You don’t want to date anyone or you don’t want to date women?” Arthur stopped and looked at him.

 

“What are you saying?” Arthur hissed out. Eames stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender.

 

“I am not judging, it is just that you talk in your sleep.” Arthur’s eyes widened. “And you mostly say Michael. So, I assumed. I could be wrong. I am sorry if I have insulted you.”

 

“No, it’s alright.” Arthur let out a small sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.” He had no told anyone about his feelings for Michael, not even his parents. Although he was sure that his mother suspected something. But maybe telling his imaginary friend would help give him practice for when he does tell his parents. “I am not interested in women, I never have been, but I still don’t want to date anyone.” Arthur said as he continued walking. “And I don’t want to talk about Michael either.” Arthur knew Eames would bring it up so it would be better just to get it out there now.

 

“Okay.” Eames said quietly. Arthur was surprised that Eames didn’t fight him on this. Eames always fought him when he didn’t want to talk about something. 

 

Then again, Eames didn’t have room to argue. He told Arthur barely anything about his life. If Eames could keep secrets, then so could Arthur.

 

The walk back home was in silence.

* * *

 

Ariadne did keep her promise. She invited Arthur to small parties held at her house. Arthur didn’t go to all of them, but he did make some appearances when he wasn’t busy.

 

And when he did go, he had a good time. He was welcomed into their group with open arms. Something he was not expecting.

 

Mal loved Arthur like a brother (her words, not his) and was in the process of teaching him French. Dom talked about architecture to him and about all his ideas about the most random things. Ariadne chatted away about the gossip of the school. Yusuf tried to teach him more about chemistry, yet all attempts ended in failure.

 

When Arthur met Robert, he wasn’t sure what to think at first. He seemed shy but he also seemed arrogant. He knew he was rich and he liked people to know it, but he was also nice. Ariadne had said that his father had a big effect on him before he died, thus giving him his arrogance.

 

But Robert is still trying to be his own man. Ariadne says he has improved a lot.

 

And with meeting Robert, Eames also met Saito. Saito was the richest person at the school. In fact, Saito’s family owned the school.

 

And Saito was interesting. He liked people knowing he had money and he wasn’t afraid to rub it in people’s faces. He bought the most ridiculous things. He even had his own airplane. What seventeen year old has their own airplane?

 

It was ridiculous. But Arthur didn’t judge him. Saito was nice to him, and really, that was all that mattered.

 

And at the end of the day, when he got back from hanging out with all of them, he could still come home to Eames. Eames would always be waiting for him on his bed to ask him about his night, always with a smile on his face.

 

It was perfect.

 

But of course, nothing ever stayed perfect. Especially for Arthur.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Arthur heard, rather than saw, his blinds being pulled open. He grunted out as he rolled over to see who had decided to bother him before his alarm went off.

 

He had been in the middle of a wonderful dream. Not that he would ever want to admit who had appeared in his dream (Eames), regardless, it was still a good dream.

 

He and Eames had just been walking through the park during the day and it was perfect. It was a nice autumn day and the sun was shining, the leaves were changing colors. Eames was smiling and laughing and talking with other people, making them laugh. Making Arthur laugh.

 

It was the happiest Arthur had ever felt and it hadn’t even been real.

 

“Morning sweetie.” His mom said with a big smile on her face as she walked over to him.

 

“My alarm hasn’t gone off.” He huffed out as he pulled his covers back over his face. He wanted to go back to his dream.

 

“I know. I just came to give you your dress shirt for today. I ironed it for you and everything.” Arthur peeked out of the covers to look at her.

 

“Oh.”

 

“And I even made your favorite for breakfast this morning.”

 

“Really?” He said as a small smile spread across his face.

 

“Yes. Well, I know how hard you have been working on this project so I wanted everything to be perfect.” Arthur nodded as he sat up.

 

“Thanks mom.”

 

“No problem.” She said as she walked over and pressed a small kiss to his forehead before leaving. Arthur looked over and saw Eames smirking at him.

 

“Such a considerate mum, is she not?” Arthur pulled himself from his bed and walked towards the door.

 

“Wasn’t your mother as considerate?”

 

“Not really.” Eames said with a shrug. “She sort of just ignored me most of the time.

 

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

 

“Ancient history now.” Eames replied with disinterest Arthur just shrugged and walked towards the bathroom. If it wasn’t a big deal for Eames, then Arthur wouldn’t make a big deal of it. Especially this early in the morning.

 

When he was all dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror. He didn’t look like his normal self today. His was wearing nice black dress pants with a simple white button up shirt and a tie, his only tie, to be exact. And he even slicked his hair back for today.

 

It made him look much older.

 

Today was the big day. The day of the project presentation with Dom. Every group had to present their story to the class, and the teacher demanded that they make a formal event of it.

 

What a better way to spend the last day of the semester than by giving a big presentation. It wasn’t like he had to study or anything like that.

 

These were times when he really hated teachers. They always made things like this just to torture him. He was sure of it.

 

He had stayed up till two last night going over his notes for this presentation. He had spent most of the evening studying for his other finals and he still didn’t feel as confident as he should be.

 

“You look good.” Arthur glanced over and saw Eames smiling at him from his desk.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Are you nervous?” Arthur just looked at him. “Sorry, of course you are nervous. But just think, after today, you are half-way done with your senior year.”

 

“I know. I am just a bit stressed out.”

 

“Well, go eat your delicious breakfast and let the nerves float away.”

 

“Yeah, okay.” Arthur said as he grabbed his book bag and went downstairs.

* * *

 

Arthur sat down at the kitchen table. His father had already left for the day.

 

“So, are you nervous?” His mom asked as she set a plate down in front of him. Arthur refrained from rolling his eyes at her.

 

“Yeah. This is a big part of my grade. I just hope we don’t mess it up.”

 

“You will do fine sweetie. I have faith in you.” Arthur nodded as he took a bite of his food.

 

It was silent for a bit. His mom stood there and did the dishes, quietly humming to herself as Arthur ate. Eames had appeared not too long after and was sitting next to him, humming along with Arthur’s mother.

 

Of course, Eames made sure that his humming was as off key and obnoxious as it possibly could be.

 

It was more distracting than it really should be. Arthur wanted to hit Eames. Or shout at him. To do something to shut him up because glaring was not getting the job done. But his mom was here, so that was off limits.

 

“So, who is Eames?” Arthur chocked on his food.

 

“What?” Arthur coughed out. Eames was over there laughing as Arthur took a big drink to calm down his coughing fit he was now having.

 

“Eames. You were saying the name when I walked in to wake you up. I assumed it was a person and not the chair.”

 

“Oh, um, well…” How was he supposed to explain this one?

 

“Is he your boyfriend?” He looked over and found that his mom was now sitting next to him.

 

“What? No, mom, I’m not…”

 

“Arthur, honey, please, I am your mother. I am not stupid.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Arthur, you are a senior in high school. Not once did I ever hear you mention a crush on a girl. Never did you ever bring a girl home. I never caught you messing around with one or sneaking one out. You don’t even talk about girls, besides Mal and Ariadne, whom are both in relationships. The only person I ever heard you talk about was Michael.” Arthur was silent. His mom had him there.

 

“Eames is not my boyfriend.” He said after a few moments of silence. “Just a friend.”

 

“Oh, well, you know, you can always bring him by. Your father and I won’t kill him.” She said as she stood up and walked back to the sink. “We always love having guests over.”

 

“No, just, things are sort of complicated right now.”

 

“Oh, well, maybe someday.” Arthur just nodded. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen. Eames was already here and even if he was real, there was no way he would bring him home to meet his parents. That would just be awkward. “And Arthur, your father and I will always love you, no matter what.” Arthur looked up at her and smiled.

 

“I know.”

* * *

 

That day went by so slow. Arthur seriously wanted to die. And you would think that finals would make the day go by faster. Nope. Not for Arthur.

 

So, when Arthur walked into his English class, he was even more nervous than before. And Dom, the little asshole, looked like he was as calm as could be.

 

When it was their time to go, Arthur almost tripped on his way up to the front of the class. He stood there awkwardly next to Dom, trying to calm himself down.

 

He looked up and glanced out into the audience. The first face he saw was that of Eames, smiling at him from the back row. Arthur smiled back and right then, he knew, he could do this. With Eames there, he could do anything.

 

This presentation was going to be a piece of cake.

* * *

 

Christmas break was wonderful for Arthur. No homework, no worries, just time to relax, enjoy life and forget about school for a few weeks.

 

Dom and Ariadne called him all the time to hang out, and Arthur always went.  He had nothing better to do.

 

The only downside was that he didn’t see Eames very much. It seemed he wasn’t really around that much. Arthur saw him in the morning, and sometimes he saw him when he got home, but that was it.

 

Arthur had invited him to come with him to Dom’s, but Eames had refused. So, Arthur was not one to be blamed. If Eames didn’t want to go, he wouldn’t be forced to.

 

But some days, he did stay home, and Eames would spend the whole day with him, just chatting away like nothing was wrong. It was just like they had done when he was in school.

 

It was weird, but Arthur didn’t question it. As long as Eames was there, he was fine.

* * *

 

As Christmas approached, Arthur couldn’t help but dread it.

 

Arthur’s family was not close at all. Arthur barely ever saw them. In fact, Christmas was the only time the whole family got together during the year. They all lived in different places, so they decided on one holiday to get together, and it happened to be Christmas.

 

Arthur hated his family Christmas celebration. It wasn’t like he hated his family, it was just that he was always bored. He was the oldest out of the cousins. The closest one to his age was 10. And he was the only boy of the cousins. So, he and his cousins didn’t really have much in common and they usually didn’t want anything to do with him anyways because he was a boy.

 

And his aunts and uncles were too old for him to have anything in common with either, so that left him alone for the night. And sure his grandparents would talk to him, but they would only ask about one thing: girlfriends.

 

Every year they asked Arthur why he didn’t have a girlfriend and each year he never had the heart to tell them the real reason.

 

So, yes, he was not looking forward to tonight.

 

“You should be happy, it is Christmas after all.” Eames said as he watched Arthur straighten out his tie from the bed. His mom always made him dress up for these things. It was tradition.

 

“Yeah, but I am always the one left alone with no one to talk to. It is boring.”

 

“Ah.” Eames said quietly as he looked around the room.

 

“Will you come down and see me tonight?” Arthur asked as he looked at Eames through the mirror. Eames still didn’t look at him.

 

“Arthur, your family is there.”

 

“I know, but, I am always bored and will probably be secluded away from everyone else. It would really mean a lot to me if you showed up. So, you know, I have someone to talk to. Just to keep me company.” Eames finally looked at him.

 

“Alright, I will make an appearance.” Arthur smiled.

 

“You promise?”

 

“I promise.”

 

“Thanks Eames. It means a lot to me.” Arthur then turned around. “So, do I look presentable?”

 

“You always look presentable Arthur. You don’t need me to tell you that.” Arthur was about to respond when his mother yelled up at him.

 

“Arthur! Your grandparents are here!” Arthur let out a little sigh before turning back to the mirror to give himself another look over.

 

“Well, that is your cue to leave.” Eames said as he hopped off the bed.

 

“Right. I will see you downstairs in a bit.” Eames just nodded as Arthur made his way downstairs.

* * *

 

Arthur sat in a chair in the foyer away from everyone else listening to his iPod. It was almost eleven and Eames still had not come down.

 

To say Arthur was mad was an understatement. He was pissed and above all, he was hurt. Eames had promised that he would come down. Arthur didn’t expect him to stay the whole night, but still, a few minutes would have been nice. Better than nothing.

 

His cousins had been playing in the living room so Arthur had retreated here and had been sitting here for a couple of hours and no one had bothered to check up on him. Not once.

 

This is why he hated family gatherings. He was the one family member that no one missed when he disappeared from these things. He could have stayed upstairs the entire night and he was sure no one would have really noticed.

 

He glanced up when he heard footsteps. His heart started beating faster with the expectation that it could have been Eames. He tried not to look disappointed when his mom walked through the doorway. She stopped when she saw him sitting there.

 

“Arthur. Honey, why are you in here by yourself?”

 

“I am tired. And I don’t feel well.”

 

“Oh, well, maybe you should go up to bed. I will tell everyone you aren’t feeling well.” Arthur nodded and stood up.

 

“Thanks mom.” Arthur slowly walked up to his room. It was empty, and he tried not to be disappointed again. He crashed down on the bed and let a few tears fall free.

 

“Arthur? What’s wrong?” Arthur rolled over at the voice. Eames was kneeling on the bed, looking over him with a concerned look on his face. Arthur bolted up, anger filling him.

 

“What’s wrong? What the fuck do you think is wrong?” Arthur shouted.

 

“Well, if I knew, I wouldn’t have asked, obviously.” Eames answered.

 

“You promised me that you would come down tonight. You fucking promised.” Arthur knew he shouldn’t be exploding on Eames like this, but he couldn’t help it.

 

“Arthur…”

 

“You are supposed to be my friend, Eames, to be there for me when I need you. Well, guess what? I needed you tonight and you weren’t there.”

 

“You did not need me tonight.” Arthur just looked at him. The words sinking in. “You had a room full of people to talk with. You had people down there who care for you but you just sat in the corner like a recluse. You didn’t even try!” Eames shouted back at him. “So get over yourself a bit Arthur.”

 

“I shouldn’t have to try with my own family. And you should have kept your promise.”

 

“Well if you needed a friend so bad, why didn’t you invite Dom or Ariadne. Not me. Not someone who no one can fucking see. You need someone real, not some imaginary loser.” Arthur just stared at him.

 

“That doesn’t matter. I wanted you there. Not Dom or Ariadne, Eames. I wanted Eames there. You promised me and then you just broke that promise like it meant nothing.” Eames sighed and ran a hand over his face as Arthur just glared at him.

 

“What are you going to do when I leave, Arthur? Who will you depend on then?” Eames finally said. Arthur just looked at him.

 

“I can’t even depend on you now. What does it even matter anymore? Why do I still need you?” Eames just stared at him.

 

“Well then, if that is how you feel.”

 

And just like that, Eames was gone.

 

Arthur fell back against his bed and rolled over, screaming into his pillow.

* * *

 

Arthur woke up the next morning feeling awful.  He didn’t get much sleep the night before because all he could think about Eames.

 

He hated that they had departed on such a bad note but Arthur was mad and Eames deserved to know that Arthur was mad and hurt by what he had done.

 

He reached over to check his phone and saw that he had a new message from Ariadne.

 

_Hey! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We are all getting together at the coffee shop today at 3, if you want to stop by._

Arthur stared at the text for a few minutes before he responded.

 

_Sure. I will meet you there._

He might as well go out and be depressed then stay here and be depressed. At least if he is around other people, he could pretend that last night didn’t happen.

 


	6. Chapter 6

To say Arthur was sad was the understatement of the century.

 

He was downright depressed. Arthur had admitted that to himself. And it has only been six days since Eames had left. Only six.

 

But it was enough to have Arthur doing nothing but staying in bed, moping about, not sleeping and not eating anything except for a late night snack after his parents went to bed. He didn’t even really talk to them. His mother tried to get him to talk to her, but Arthur just didn’t respond.

 

His father didn’t even try. Then again, he and his father were not the closest. His father gave up on him being anything like him when he turned into a teenager. But Arthur had always felt closer to his mom. He felt like she understood him more. But with this particular issue, there was no one to talk about it with.

 

Things just weren’t the same without Eames. Before, no matter how Arthur was feeling, Eames would always make him smile. Eames cared about Arthur. He wanted Arthur to be happy all the time and would do anything to make him happy again.

 

And now that was gone. And all Arthur felt was emptiness. He felt like part of his heart was ripped out.

 

Arthur knew that both of them were at fault here, but still, he didn’t think it would be enough that Eames would leave for good. He thought it was just a stupid fight. That the next morning, things would be back to their normal self.

 

No, Arthur was wrong about that. Eames was gone.

 

His friends noticed the change as well. Ariadne tried to get him to talk about it, cornering him when they hung out, but Arthur just refused. Dom told him that if he wanted to, he could talk to him. A nice gesture, but Arthur wouldn’t. And Mal, well, Mal just looked at him, trying to guilt him to talking to her. It wouldn’t work. But it was a good try.

 

But he tried to be sociable. If his friends called him and invited him to a party, he would show up.

 

Which was why he was where he was now; on a balcony by himself, looking at the sky waiting to ring in the new year by himself. 

 

Ariadne had called him this morning and said her parents were out of town so she was having a party and that she would love for Arthur to come. Naturally, he didn’t want to, but he knew he couldn’t turn her down. She would never let him live it down if he didn’t object.

 

So he went, and his main purpose for the night was to get as drunk as he could.

 

He was sociable for a bit, talking with Mal and Dom. He even talked with Yusuf and Ariadne for a bit. But every so often he would look around and try and find Eames, even though he knew he wouldn’t be there.

 

He thought he saw him once, but it was just his imagination.

 

So, Arthur grabbed a beer and made his way to the balcony to be by himself. He had no one special to be with this day. No one to kiss into the new year.  He was alone. He wished he was back at home. At least there he could feel a little better about feeling alone.

 

He hated being around people but still feeling alone. It was the worse feeling in the world and it was not supposed to be this way. He already felt like this with his family, he didn’t need it with his friends.

 

He sat and just stared at the sky. Ariadne lived a little out of town so the stars looked amazing out. And it was beautiful out. You couldn’t even tell that it was December.

 

He heard shouting and laughs and he knew it was midnight. He just sighed and took another sip of his beer. He glanced up and saw a shooting star soar across the sky.

 

“I wish you were here Eames. I miss you.” Arthur finished the beer and walked back towards the door. “And I was wrong, I still need you.” He whispered out before walking back inside into the warmth.

 

“Hey!” Ariadne said as she pulled him into a hug. “Happy New Year!” He pulled away and gave her a small smile.

 

“Happy New Year.” She frowned up at him.

 

“Why are you so gloomy?” Arthur just sighed.

 

“Not really feeling the holiday. I think I am going to go home and try and sleep.”

 

“You okay to drive? Your father will kill you if you wreck his car.”

 

“I know. I am fine. I didn’t really drink as much as I wanted to. So I should be okay.”

 

“Alright. Text me when you get home.”

 

“I will.” Arthur said as he grabbed his coat and made his way out to the car.

 

He knew he should get over this. That he should just forget that Eames was even in his life. He can’t mope over an imaginary friend forever.

 

But Eames didn’t feel like an imaginary friend. He felt real. And even though Arthur couldn’t touch him or anything like that, he still felt like a real human being. And how could he forget about someone like that?

 

And that scared Arthur more than anything. How can someone feel so real, but be imaginary?

 

Maybe he really was going crazy.

* * *

 

When Arthur pulled up to his house, it was still completely dark. His parents weren’t home yet. They had a party to go to as well and he was sure that they wouldn’t be home till much later.

 

Arthur didn’t even bother turning on any lights. He just went straight to his room, stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed. He sent Ariadne a quick text before tossing his phone across the room.

 

He was sure he wasn’t going to be able to sleep much tonight, but it would at least be worth a try.

 

Well, he was restless, like he knew he would be. He would pull the covers off then pull them back on then push them off. He would toss and turn. He was so mad he even screamed into his pillow, hoping maybe it would make him more tired.

 

Was it too much to ask for a little bit of sleep? Just a few hours. That was all that he wanted. It was all that he needed.

 

He sighed and rolled over.

 

“Having trouble sleeping, darling?” Arthur’s eyes widened and he let out a little scream.

 

“What the fuck?” Arthur screamed as he bolted up. Eames just laughed as he sat up and crossed his legs.

 

“That was not the greeting I was expecting.” Eames said with a small leer. Arthur looked down and realized he was still in just his boxers. He pulled the blanket over his lap.

 

“Well, I’m sorry, but there are other ways you could have come besides just appearing in my bed. Which, did I ever tell you, was quite creepy?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I could always leave again.”

 

“No!” Arthur shouted as he reached out to grab him, only to find that his hands have gone through him. Eames smiled as he looked up at him.

 

“So you really did miss me.” Arthur sighed and fell back down on his bed.

 

“A little.” He whispered.

 

“Come now, I think it was more than just a little.” Eames said, lying down next to him. “I was gone for less than a week and you went into a depressed state.”

 

“You can shut up anytime now.” Arthur said as he rolled away, turning away from Eames before Eames could see the smile that was appearing on his face.

 

“Sorry. I just couldn’t resist.” Arthur rolled his eyes and just laid there in silence for a bit. He was too busy absorbing the fact that Eames was back and in his bedroom right now.

 

He rolled back over, and in all honesty, he expected Eames to be gone. But no, he was still there, lying next to him. Arthur smiled at him, making Eames smile back.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“For what?” Eames asked.

 

“For being an ass. I shouldn’t have yelled at you for not showing up on Christmas. It was a jerk move.”

 

“Well, I did break a promise….” Eames added in quietly.

 

“But you were right. It is my family and I should have tried harder.”

 

“Well, I accept your apology.” Eames said with his signature smile. Arthur was silent for a few moments before he spoke again.

 

“Where did you go?” Arthur asked. It was something that he really wanted to know. “You saw that I was depressed. Why didn’t you come back? Why did you wait this long?”

 

“You said you didn’t need me Arthur. With people like me, we stay until we know that the person doesn’t need us anymore, or they say they don’t need us anymore. Whichever comes first? And you told me that you did not need me anymore.”

 

“Oh.” Arthur said quietly. “But why did you come back?”

 

“Because you needed me.” Eames answered with a big smile on his face. Arthur just nodded and continued looking at Eames. He could not believe that he was here.

 

What he would give to just be able to touch him.

 

He didn’t want to close his eyes because he was afraid that when he opened them again, Eames would be gone and he would realize that this was all just a dream.

 

So, he just watched Eames. He tried to memorize every minor detail there was to know about him. He wanted it imbedded in his mind forever.

 

And it was weird. This feeling Arthur got when Eames was around was indescribable. He hadn’t felt anything like this since he was around Michael.

 

He felt something for Eames. He knew that now. He wouldn’t have reacted that way if he didn’t. He just didn’t know how to really explain this feeling.

 

He didn’t want to think that there was someone who was better than Michael. But Eames was different.

 

Eames was here, with him now. Eames cared about him. Eames liked him. Eames was perfect. The only flaw was that he wasn’t real.

 

Arthur shook those thoughts from his mind. He did not need to be thinking about that. He needed to focus on staying away. Even though now he was feeling very sleepy.

 

“It’s alright Arthur, you can go to sleep. I will be here in the morning when you wake up.” Arthur gave him a small smile before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

 

When Arthur woke up, Eames was sleeping next to him. Arthur smiled. He reached out and went to touch Eames’ face but pulled back. It wasn’t like he could actually touch him anyways.

 

But Arthur realized that he had never seen Eames sleeping. It was quite a sight. Eames looked so innocent and baby faced when he slept. He looked like an angel.

 

Arthur just rolled out of bed and went downstairs. If Eames was really sleeping, he didn’t want to interrupt Eames if he was dreaming. Arthur knew how much that meant to him.

 

He walked down into the kitchen and found his parents sitting at the table.

 

“Hey.” Arthur said with a smile as he sat down.

 

“Is that a smile on your face?” His mother said with a smile.

 

“Yeah. I guess it is.” His father looked up at him but didn’t really say anything. He just gave him a small nod of approval. “Sorry for being a pain in the ass lately. I will try to be better from now on.”

 

“Oh sweetie. You are a teenager, we know what it is like. Going through the motions and whatnot.”

 

“I know, but still, I am sorry.” His mother just smiled.

 

“It is just good to have our Arthur back.” Arthur just smiled.

 

It felt good to be back. Now that Eames was back, everything was looking up.

 


	7. Chapter 7

When school started again, things seemed to go right back to the way they were. Arthur had more classes with Dom this semester, and he even had some with Ariadne, Mal and Yusuf.

 

As for Eames, well, Eames actually went to school with Arthur this semester. He wouldn’t go to class with him, but he would appear in the hallway afterwards and walk with Arthur to his next class.

 

Everything was perfect.

 

And having Eames back to his normal happy self made Arthur much happier.

 

And everyone was grateful for it. His friends enjoyed this newly changed Arthur, as did his parents. It was almost like nothing had happened. That one week was completely forgotten.

 

But of course, there were some days that caused some problems in Arthur’s happy perfect life.

 

For example: discussions about college.

 

Arthur didn’t want to talk to his parents about college. He knew they would be of no help to him. His mother would agree that the only college that was best for him was the one that was in town. His father, on the other hand, would try and tell him to go to his alma mater. Those were not acceptable to Arthur.

 

So yeah, no help at all from his parents.

 

And Arthur had narrowed down his choices to three, all of which he had applied to and been accepted to. He just needed to decide which one he was actually going to go to.

 

So, Arthur would talk to Eames about it. At least, he would try to. The problem was that Eames did not want to talk about it.

 

“Why not?” Arthur asked.

 

“Because Arthur…”

 

“That is not a reason Eames.”

 

“Your real friends will be able to help you more than I can.”

 

“You are real to me Eames. I want your opinion as well.”

 

“Well I don’t have one. I never went to college. And to be frank, I don’t care about you going to college. So go ask someone else.” And then Eames disappeared. Arthur sighed and fell down on his bed.

 

Arthur never brought up college with Eames again.

* * *

 

The second problem came in May. Prom was coming up and everything had been planned out for weeks. Arthur had gotten a tux because Mal and Ariadne had convinced him to go even though he was dateless. Eames saying he should go was the final touch. Arthur had agreed to go if Eames said he would go. So, technically he would be dateless to others, but in Arthur’s mind, he was going with Eames.

 

But, that was until Mal had come up to him saying she had the perfect date for him.

 

“Mal, we agreed that I was going to be dateless to this event.” Arthur replied. This was going to mess everything up. As long as Arthur was dateless, Eames would make an appearance at the prom (Arthur was dying to see Eames in a tux).

 

That was their agreement.

 

“I know Arthur, but Penny’s date dumped her at the last minute and she really needs a date.”

 

“Mal…”

 

“Arthur, I already told her you would go with her.”

 

“Why?” Arthur asked, suddenly upset.

 

“Because I know you are a good man. She may not be your type but you are still a gentlemen. I am not asking you to date her, just take her there and maybe dance to a few songs. Let her have a good time. That is it. Nothing too hard.”

 

“Why can’t you tell her to ask someone else? I am sure that there are plenty of guys who would want to go with her.”

 

“Arthur. I am not arguing over this with you. You are taking her. That is final.” Mal then stood up and walked away. Arthur sighed and banged his head on the table.

 

Eames was not going to be happy about this.

* * *

 

“So, you couldn’t say no?” Eames asked as Arthur paced back in forth across his room.

 

“No. She said I had already agreed. I tried to back out but she wouldn’t let me. You can’t really say no to Mal.”

 

“She knows you like men, right?” Eames asked.

 

“Yes.” Arthur said with a little glare. “She is just asking me to be a gentlemen and do something nice.”

 

“Ah. Well, in that case, you should do it.”

 

“What?” Arthur asked, stopping dead in his tracks.

 

“I think it is a brilliant idea. This Penny girl is probably distressed and you taking her would make her entire night. It is the sensible thing to do.”

 

“You aren’t mad?”

 

“Why would I be?”

 

“Because I thought you wanted to sort of be my date?” Arthur whispered. Eames gave a little chuckle.

 

“Wouldn’t people find it weird if your date was your imaginary friend? Arthur, you would be laughed right out of the town.”

 

“But you said you would only come if I had no date.”

 

“I did.”

 

“So, you aren’t coming then?” Arthur asked. Eames didn’t respond. He just remained looking at his hands as if they were the most interesting thing in the room. Arthur let out a small grunt. “I hate it when you do this.”

 

“Do what, exactly?”

 

“Mess everything up. I was looking forward to prom because I knew you would be there. I wasn’t going to go, not until you said you would be there. Now, it all just seems useless.”

 

“Arthur…”

 

“Just don’t. Okay. I know how this goes. You will promise to make an appearance and then I sit at prom, waiting for you to show up, and you don’t. I get hurt and mad and then we yell at each other and say things we don’t mean and you leave and everything gets messed up again.” Arthur looked straight at Eames, forcing him to keep his gaze.  Eames let out a small sigh.

 

“This is entirely my fault. It isn’t supposed to be like this. I am not doing my job properly.” Eames said in a whisper.

 

“What?”

 

“I am going to be leaving soon, Arthur. For good.” Arthur’s eyes widened. “Don’t be so surprised. You will be going to college soon. I have helped you all I can. You have friends, you have a life, you are happy.” Arthur didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything. He was too busy comprehending the fact that Eames would be leaving soon. “I am supposed to be distancing myself from you slowly. I started too, but that didn’t really work, did it?”

 

“So, when do you plan on leaving me?” Arthur asked. He tried to keep the tears away, but one rolled down his cheek.

 

“I was planning to, after prom.”

 

“Prom is tomorrow Eames.”

 

“I know.” Arthur was silent for a bit. He had fallen down on the bed next to Eames without even realizing it.

 

“Can you wait?”  He asked as he looked over at Eames.

 

“Wait for what?” Eames asked softly. If Arthur really concentrated, he was sure that he could feel Eames’ breath on his face.

 

“Graduation.” Eames just looked at him.

 

“You know prolonging it won’t help anything.”

 

“Please, for me.” Arthur begged.

 

“Alright.” Arthur just nodded as he looked away, letting more tears fall.

 

This was not how things were supposed to be. Eames was supposed to be with him forever. It just made more sense that way.

 

“So, are you coming tomorrow?” Arthur asked. Eames was silent. He took that as a no. When he looked over again, Eames was gone.

* * *

 

Eames didn’t show up the next morning. Arthur didn’t really expect him too since he had left early.

 

Arthur knew that today was not going to be a good day.

 

When he pulled himself out of bed, he saw that his mom had his tux out of the bag and hanging up on the door. He rolled his eyes and made his way to the bathroom.

 

His mom and dad were super excited that day. Arthur didn’t go to prom last year so this was his first time going. His mom was pretty much following him around the house with her camera. It was quite annoying and he had to try very hard not to snap at her.

 

By noon, he was dressed and ready to go. He had his hair all slicked back and his suit was fitted so that he looked amazing in it. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, he knew he looked good. He even decided on wearing contacts today so he wouldn’t look dorky with his glasses. He wanted to look older and mature, not like a twelve year old.

 

He heard the doorbell ring.

 

The gang was all meeting him at his house. The group consisted of Dom and Mal, Ariadne and Robert, Yusuf and his girlfriend Marie, and Saito and his date, Wendy. And of course Penny.

 

“Arthur!” His mother shouted. Arthur took a deep breath and walked towards the door. He stopped and took one last look in his room. Just in case.

 

Seeing nothing, he made his way downstairs.

 

After what seemed like forever of taking pictures, they were finally allowed to leave. They all got into the limo and were off.

 

Arthur could see that everyone there was as happy as ever, so he plastered a smile to his face so no one would notice how upset he really was. While everyone else were conversing with each other and laughing, Arthur took the chance to fully look at his friends.

 

Mal and Dom looked amazing. Dom was in a regular black tux and looked as dapper as ever. Mal was in a beautiful black dress that clung to her in all the right places to show off her amazing body. She was going to be best looking girl at the prom. Everyone was going to be jealous of them.

 

Ariadne and Robert looked like the typical high school couple. Robert was in a simple black tux with a red tie that matched Ariadne’s bright red dress. Ariadne went with a knee length dress. It suited her perfectly, especially with her chucks she decided to wear with it.

 

Yusuf and his date matched as well. Yusuf was in a white tux actually. Arthur was very surprised when he saw that. But his date had a simple green dress. And they looked happy, which was all that really mattered.

 

Saito and his date were boring. A simple tux for Saito while his date wore a plain white dress. Arthur tried not to look at him. He might fall asleep if he stared too long. You would think with all the money he had, he could afford to make them look better.

 

Arthur’s date, Penny, looked beautiful. Her red hair was all pulled back with some loose girls that cupped her face. She was in a dark blue floor length gown that looked amazing on her. Arthur couldn’t deny that she was gorgeous. He didn’t know the story of the breakup, but clearly the guy was in the wrong to give her up.

 

The plan was to go to the very expensive Italian restaurant that was outside of town, then cruise around, then finally, they would head to the school to go to Prom.

 

It was going to be a very long afternoon indeed.

* * *

 

By the time they finally entered the prom; Arthur was tired and wanted to go home. But Penny and everyone else was as wired as could be.

 

They found a table and set all of their things down before running off to the dance floor. Well, Arthur didn’t.

 

He sat down at the table and just watched the rest of the people. He even looked at the decorations a bit. He had no idea what the theme was, but if he would make a guess, it had something to do with clouds because there was white fluffy stuff everywhere.

 

“Hey Arthur.” He tensed up as he heard that familiar voice. He looked over and saw that Nash was slowly approaching him.

 

“Um, yeah.” Arthur replied. Nash stopped in front of him and crossed his arms.

 

“I came to tell you a thing or two about Penny.”

 

“Penny?” Arthur asked. It then hit him. “You were the one who dumped Penny?” He asked. Nash just laughed.

 

“Yeah. Has she been moping about that all day?”

 

“No, not really.” Arthur said. It was true. Penny had been extremely happy all day.

 

“Well, I just wanted to tell you, if you expected to get lucky tonight, her legs lock at the knee.” Arthur gave a little laugh.

 

“Thanks for the warning Nash, but I was not planning on sleeping with her. I am here with her as just a friend. Now, if you wouldn’t mind going as far from me as possible, that would be fantastic.” Nash gave him a little glare before walking away. Arthur smiled to himself. He had finally spoken his mind to Nash. It might have taken a year and some help from Dom and Mal to stop the bullying, but in the end, Arthur stood up for himself, or, technically, Penny. But still, he wouldn’t have dared say something like that in September.

 

“What did he want?” Arthur turned and saw Penny standing there.

 

“Nothing, he was just being Nash.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“But don’t worry about it.” Arthur said with a small smile. He could tell that Penny was still quite upset about the whole breakup. Arthur heard the music change into something softer.

 

He held out his hand to Penny.

 

“Care to dance?” She looked up at him and smiled.

 

“I would love to.” She grabbed his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

 

Arthur wrapped his arms around her waist as she rested her head against his chest, wrapped her arms around him. Arthur was not the best at dancing, but Penny seemed content with this so it didn’t really matter at the moment.

 

He glanced around at all of the other couples on the dance floor. Ariadne and Robert were talking while Yusuf and his date were laughing away. Mal and Dom were the ones that really stuck out.

 

Just by looking at them, you could tell how in love they were. They were the perfect couple. Their love would last forever, Arthur knew it.

 

“Thank you, by the way, for taking me tonight.” Penny said as she pulled away and looked up at him. “It means a lot to me.” Arthur just smiled.

 

“No one deserves to be alone for their senior prom.” She gave him another big smile before resting her head on his chest again.

 

It was silent after that. Arthur was just enjoying the music and just relaxing. It had been a while since he really thought about nothing and just let himself relax.

 

“Who is he?” Penny’s question brought him out of his thoughts.

 

“Who?”

 

“The guy you are in love with.” Arthur tensed up a bit as he pulled away.

 

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

 

“Well, Mal thinks you are in love with someone.”

 

“What makes you think it is a man?” He asked.

 

“Oh, Mal was just saying something about it. I am sorry if I offended you or anything.”

 

“No, you didn’t. I am not in love with anyone. I just, well, I miss someone.”

 

“What is his name?”

 

“Eames.”

 

“Is he nice?” She asked.

 

“Yes. He is amazing. He was really the first person I met once I moved here. He was my first friend. He makes me happy and is always there to listen to me. I can talk about my problems to him and he never judges me.”

 

“I see. Was he supposed to be here tonight?”

 

“Yeah.” He said quietly.

 

“Maybe he will still show up.” She said with a smile as the song ended. Arthur just looked at her.

 

“Maybe…” Penny smiled and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before she wondered off to go find Mal. Arthur just sighed as he made his way back to the table. He knew Eames wouldn’t show up tonight.

 

So, for most of the night, he sat at the table, away from everyone else, just watching everyone else having the time of their life while he sat there, depressed.

 

“Why so gloomy, darling?” Arthur sat straight up as the voice appeared behind him.

 

“Eames.” Arthur said with a small smile. He turned around and saw Eames standing behind him, arms behind his back, glancing around. He finally met Arthur’s eyes and smiled.

 

“Arthur.”

 

“You came.” Eames nodded and slowly walked over and sat down in the seat next to him.

 

“I did.” Arthur looked over at him and saw that he was in a very nice tux, although it seemed a little outdated, but it looked wonderful on him. His hair was still shaggy looking, but it suited him. He looked fantastic. “I never made it to my senior prom, couldn’t get the date I wanted so I didn’t go. Might as well crash yours, seems a bit more exciting than mine.”

 

“Is that all?” Arthur asked. Eames just smiled.

 

“I came to see you, as well.” Arthur looked over and smiled at him.

 

“Good.”

 

“Penny looks happy. You did a good thing Arthur.”

 

“Thank you. She dated Nash, you know.”

 

“I know. I saw you tell him off, very mature of you, Arthur.” Eames said with another smile. “I also know that all of your friends think that you are in love with me.” Arthur was sure his heart stopped beating for a second.

 

“What?”

 

“Well, they don’t really think it is me, but they think you are in love with someone. I guess I am making an ass out of myself by assuming.” Arthur didn’t respond. He really didn’t know what to say or to think at the moment. “So, I guess the question is, do you have feelings for me?” Arthur didn’t look at him. He looked over at the dance floor and saw all his friends dancing and having the time of their life. He should be over there with them right now. But he knew he would never as happy with them as he is when he is with Eames.

 

“I am glad that you came here tonight.” Arthur said after a few moments of silence. Eames let out a small chuckle.

 

“Right. Always deflecting.” Arthur turned and looked at him.

 

“I don’t know how I feel about you Eames, is that what you want to hear?” Arthur added curtly. 

 

“Yes, because it is the truth. Honesty is always the best policy.”

 

“Do you have feelings for me?” Arthur asked as he glanced over at him nervously, not keeping eye contact.

 

“Of course. I am madly in love with you Arthur. Where have you been these past few months?” Arthur looked over at Eames so fast he was sure that he gave himself whiplash. Eames just smiled at him.

 

“Are you bullshitting me right now?” Arthur whispered.

 

“Why would I bullshit you Arthur? I have been nothing but honest with you since I met you.”

 

“Have you?”

 

“Yes.” Eames said quietly.

 

“You just don’t answer some things.”

 

“One day Arthur. One day I will tell you everything.”

 

“One day.” Arthur said coldly. “And which day will that be?”

 

“Don’t get mad with me Arthur. I promised you answers and you will get those answers when I am ready to tell you.”

 

“Just not today?”

 

“Just not today.” Eames repeated. Arthur sighed. “What do you want to do Arthur? What do you want? Right now, this minute.” Eames asked. “If you could have anything, what would it be?” Arthur turned and looked at him.

 

“I want to touch you. I want to know that you are real. I want to dance with you and to know that one day I won’t wake up to find that you are gone forever.” Arthur reached over and put his hand to Eames’ face, watching it fall right through it. He sighed and brought his hand back to his lap. “But it isn’t possible.”

 

“Arthur…” Arthur just smiled.

 

“I really am glad you came. You do look very good in a suit.” Eames smiled a sad smile, but really, there was nothing he could do. Eames was his imaginary friend and after this month, he would be gone, forever. Arthur might as well try to accept that now.

 

They sat in silence for a bit before Eames spoke again.

 

“You should go join your friends Arthur. They are missing you.” Arthur looked over at his friends before he looked back at Eames.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Tonight is your night, Arthur. Enjoy yourself. I will be at your house when you get home.”

 

“Promise?” Eames smiled at him, a true genuine smile.

 

“I promise.” Arthur gave him one last look before standing up and walking towards his friends.

 

When he looked back to the table, Eames was gone.

* * *

 

Arthur stumbled into his room around two in the morning. He was so tired and a little bit tipsy. Those two combined to equal the best results for Arthur.

 

They had gone to an after party after prom. Dom had to drive him and everyone else home. He had been the responsible one and didn’t drink.

 

He pulled off his jacket and looked around. He let out a small smile when he saw Eames asleep on his bed. He didn’t know if Eames was really asleep but the main thing was that he was there just like he had promised.

 

Arthur didn’t even bother stripping down. He just crawled onto the bed and lay down as close as he could to Eames.

 

Right now, nothing else mattered. Eames was here with him. When the time came for Eames to leave, Arthur would move on. He had no other choice.

 

But until that time came, Arthur would live like Eames was going to be there forever.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur straightened out his tie as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had recently cut his hair so now it was much easier to handle. But he still slicked it back so he looked more mature.

 

Today was graduation day. Arthur had been looking forward to this day since he first moved here. After today, he would just have to survive the summer then he would be off to college in New York.

 

But there were some sadness to this joyous day. Eames would be gone soon. He has been appearing less and less over the past few days. But he would usually appear at night, after Arthur got done with school. And then he would be gone in the morning again, before Arthur woke up.

 

“You look gorgeous, darling.” Arthur turned around and smiled. Eames was sitting on the bed in a pair of khakis and a maroon colored button up shirt. It looked awful but on Eames, it was perfect. Eames had even attempted to tame his hair. It wasn’t perfect, but the attempt was appreciated.

 

“You think so?” Arthur asked.

 

“Of course.”

 

“Are you coming today?” Arthur asked quietly as he looked down. He was a little bit nervous of what his answer would be. Arthur hadn’t brought it up for this very reason.

 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

“Good.” Eames smiled.

 

“Arthur!” Arthur looked over at the sound of his name.

 

“Coming mom!”

 

“See you there.” Eames said with a smirk. Arthur nodded and grabbed his cap and gown and headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom, he saw his parents standing in the living room looking at the pictures that covered the walls. Arthur let out a small sigh to let them know that he was there. His mother turned around and smiled.

 

“Oh, look at my little boy.” His mother said as she walked up to him and pulled him into a big hug. Arthur just laughed as he pulled away. She cupped his face and kissed him on the forehead. “You are so grown up now.” She let out a little sob as she walked away, probably to get her camera.

 

His father walked over to him and smiled.

 

“I really am proud of you son.” Arthur smiled.

 

“Thanks dad.” His mom then walked back into the room, camera in hand.

 

“Alright Arthur, put your robe on so I can have some pictures.” His father let out a small sigh as Arthur laughed. “Come on, we don’t have all day!”

* * *

 

When Arthur walked into the gym, it was a madhouse. Everyone was walking around in their red and blue cap and gowns, taking pictures and chatting away. It looked like a patriotic party gone wrong. All the red and blue, it was just upsetting. The girls were forced to wear red while the guys had blue. Arthur usually liked these colors but seeing them now, it was enough to make him sick of it.

 

The teachers were all walking around making sure that everyone had their robes on right and had their tassels on the right side and all that. The principal was walking around making sure the trouble makers of the school weren’t planning on doing anything stupid. Good luck with that.

 

Arthur quickly looked around to try and find some of his friends. Mostly he saw a bunch of girls crying to their best friends about how they would never see each other again. Arthur highly doubted that.

 

He saw Dom first so he quickly headed that way. When he got closer, he saw that everyone else was there as well.

 

“Arthur!” Dom shouted. Arthur gave him a little wave as he walked over there. Mal met him halfway, bringing him into a death-grip hug. When Mal had finally let him go, Ariadne pulled him into a hug as well.

 

“We did it!” She said with a big smile.

 

“Yeah, we did.” He whispered back as he pulled away. It was weird, knowing that this would be the last time he would get to see all of them like this, together, as high school students. He knew he would see them again, but just not for a while.

 

Dom and Mal were spending the summer in Paris. They were leaving right after graduation. It seemed that Mal was finally taking Dom home to meet her family. Saito was going to Tokyo for the summer, not that Arthur was really going to miss him. They were not the best of friends, but still. Robert was taking Ariadne with him on a cruise for the summer, which Arthur was incredibly jealous of. Yusuf was the only one who was staying home for the summer but that was because he was doing summer college classes. So Arthur wouldn’t see him anyways.

 

So really, Arthur was going to be alone all summer. He wouldn’t even have Eames to keep him company.

 

“Look happy.” Yusuf said with a nudge. “We are finally leaving this hellhole behind.” Arthur gave him a small smile.

 

“Yeah.” Arthur glanced around the room again. He didn’t really know any of these people. He had only been here a year and the school was so big. There was no way that he could have met all of these people. They were all strangers. It seemed so weird. You high school class shouldn’t be strangers. You should be able to know all of them somehow, even if you didn’t like them. You never forget the people you went to high school with.

 

Arthur had always imagined knowing everyone from his class and actually being sad that he was never going to see them all again. He had felt like that at his old school, but his old school was in a small town. So it was hard not to know everyone. But here it was different.

 

“Arthur?” Arthur turned and felt his stomach drop. There, walking towards him in all his beauty, was Michael. The Michael Arthur had been in love with for the longest time. And he still looked the same. Same shaggy brown hair, same bright green eyes, same smile and the one dimple on his right cheek.

 

Arthur smiled as Michael stopped right in front of him.

 

“What are you doing here?” Arthur asked, a little dumbfounded. Seriously? Why was he here now, of all times?

 

“I came to see you silly.” He said with a little punch to the shoulder. “Your mother called me, told me today was your graduation day so I came. I haven’t heard from you in ages so I thought I would stop by.”

 

“I know. Been busy adjusting and all that. It has been quite an interesting year.” Arthur said with another smile. This seemed weird. This was not how they interacted before. Something was off. Before it all had seemed natural and easy going. Now it just seemed awkward.

 

“Those your friends?” Michael asked as he pointed to Dom and the others.

 

“Yeah.” Arthur said, glancing at them, then back at Michael. “So how have you been?”

 

“Good. Things just aren’t the same without you Arthur.”

 

“Yeah, I know the feeling. But how is Kate?” He asked. Might as well bring her up. She was the one who had stolen Michael’s heart right from under Arthur.

 

“Kate is good, as far as I know. We broke up.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Not really. Kate was a bitch. But he might as well feign being upset.

 

“It’s okay. Turns out, I think I am gay.” Arthur’s eyes widened.

 

“What?”

 

“Does that surprise you?” Michael asked with a little laugh.

 

“Um, yeah.” Arthur said with a little chuckle. “I was in love with you since I first realized I liked men. But you were always straight. I thought I never stood a chance.”

 

“Oh, wow.” Michael said with a little laugh. Arthur just smiled and looked down. Arthur should be extremely happy right now. His crush since forever was actually gay. He could date him! It was a dream come true.

 

But he didn’t want to date him. Not now.

 

“Was in love with me?” Arthur looked up. “Meaning you don’t love me anymore?”

 

“Not like that. I mean, I will always care for you Michael. But I think I am in love with someone else.” Michael just smiled. Arthur could tell that he was a little bit upset. But there wasn’t much that Arthur could do about it now.

 

“He is a lucky man.” Arthur just nodded. “Well, I should go. I will be cheering for you out there.” Arthur gave him a small smile as he walked away.

 

“Who was that?” Mal asked as she walked up next to Arthur.

 

“Oh, that was Michael. He went to my old school.”

 

“Well, that was nice of him to stop by.” Arthur just nodded as they walked towards the tables to sit down and wait for the ceremony to start.

* * *

 

“Arthur Alexander Callahan.” Arthur smiled and walked across the stage, shaking hands with the principal and the other members on the board of education. He grabbed his diploma and looked out into the audience.

 

He saw his father clapping, his mother crying, Michael was cheering, and Eames, well, Eames was just smiling at him like he was the most amazing person in the room. Arthur gave him a smile before walking off the stage and moving his tassel over.

 

As he walked back to his seat, he saw Dom getting his diploma. Mal was smiling at him, as was Ariadne. Yusuf gave him a thumbs up. Arthur just laughed. But he couldn’t stop the butterflies that were building up in his stomach. And he knew who had given him those butterflies.

 

Today had been pretty much perfect. It would only be perfect when he got home and finally told Eames about his feelings for him. It may have taken him a while to get them all sorted out, but seeing Michael again really put things into perspective for him.

 

He was in love with Eames.

 

He knew it wouldn’t really make much difference. Eames would still leave in the end. But he would leave knowing that Arthur did care about him, and that was something.

 

When the ceremony was over, Arthur walked over to his parents and Michael. Michael didn’t stay long, however. He gave Arthur a small hug and was off.

 

It was weird. If Arthur would have stayed in his old town, he probably could have been with Michael and been the happiest man on earth. But then he wouldn’t have met Eames.

 

“Well honey, are you going with your friends?” His mother asked, taking his cap and gown from him.

 

“Yeah. Robert is having a big party at his house, so I will be there for the most of the night.”

 

“Are you coming home?” His father asked sternly.

 

“Yes. But I will get a ride home, I promise.”

 

“Good. That’s my boy.” His father pulled him into a small hug. As Arthur turned to his mother, she let out a small sob and pulled him into her arms. His father had to pull her away from him so they could go. Arthur gave them a small nod before he turned his full attention to Eames, who was standing in a small corner away from everyone else.

 

“I guess a congratulations are in order.”

 

“Yes.” Arthur said with a smile. “Did you get me a gift?” Arthur was not going to bring up Eames leaving right now. He didn’t even want to think about it. Eames had said after graduation, but he didn’t specify when. It could right this moment.

 

“I did. But you will get tonight.”

 

“Tonight?” Arthur asked, a little surprised.

 

“Yes, after you party it up with your friends.”

 

“Oh.” Arthur said as he looked around. “So, you will still be there then?”

 

“Of course I will.” Eames said with a smile. “Your gift is very different. I have to give it to you in person.”

 

“I am looking forward to it.”

 

“Now, where did this Michael run off too?” Arthur laughed.

 

“He left. Why? Were you checking out your competition?” Eames looked over at him. There was a small look of confusion on his face.

 

“No. I just wanted to meet the love of your life.”

 

“He is not the love of my life.” Arthur said as he spotted Ariadne. He knew she was looking for him. She was his ride to Robert’s.

 

“Really now? I was sure that he was. In fact, I believe that he most certainly is the man that sends your heart aflutter.”

 

“Not anymore.” Arthur whispered. Eames’ eyes widened and a small smile came to his face. It was the look of pure joy. Arthur couldn’t help but smile because he was the one that made Eames look like this. Arthur loved making Eames smile.

 

“Arthur!” Ariadne shouted.

 

“Oh, I have to go.” Arthur said. Eames just smiled.

 

“You go have fun. I will see you tonight.”

 

“Okay.” Arthur then backed up and made his way into the crowd towards Ariadne. When he looked back, he saw Eames standing there, smiling at him. He gave Arthur a little wave before disappearing in the crowd.

 

Arthur could not wait to go back home.

* * *

 

Arthur stumbled into his room around three in the morning. He wasn’t drunk, but he was close. And he was tired.  He didn’t realize drinking was so exhausting.

 

He pulled off his tie and stripped out of his shirt. He left his pants on. He didn’t feel like messing with those tonight. If he tried, there was a good chance that he would fall down and make a lot of noise.

 

And he didn’t want to do that. There was no need to wake his parents up.

 

Dom and Mal had dropped him off, so his parents wouldn’t worry about how he got home or if he didn’t come home at all. But they would not like to deal with a drunk Arthur.

 

Arthur just walked over to his bed and crashed down on it. He was going to have a seriously bad headache tomorrow. But right now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

 

He closed his eyes and slowly started to drift to sleep.

 

That was, until he felt something touching him. It was a light touch, like fingers slowly caressing his face. And it felt good. He smiled slowly as he started to open his eyes.

 

Eames was staring at him with a big smile on his face. It then registered in Arthur’s mind that Eames was the one that was touching him. Arthur reached out and grabbed Eames’ hand and pulled it away from his face. His eyes widened when he felt skin. He was actually touching Eames right now.

 

“Is this real?” He whispered out.

 

“Yes, but just for tonight.” Arthur could not believe it. This felt too good to be true. It almost felt like a dream. Arthur released Eames’ hand and scooted himself closer so that he was almost nose to nose with Eames. Eames just stared at him with a smile on his face.

 

Eames reached up and ran his fingers over Arthur’s face, touching his eyelashes, his nose, his lips. Eames looked like kid on Christmas. Eames then reached up and ran his hand through Arthur’s hair.

 

“I haven’t touched anyone in years.” Eames whispered out. Arthur smiled at how wrong that sounded, but he wouldn’t let Eames know. Eames was in heaven at the moment and Arthur would not ruin his happiness.

 

When Eames pulled away, Arthur figured it was his turn now.

 

Arthur reached up and slowly touched his face with just the tips of his fingers. He ran them over his eyes, making them close. He smiled at the feel of his eyelashes. They were so soft. He then ran them down his cheek and over to his lips.

 

Eames’ lips were just as soft as they looked. Eames smiled and Arthur even ran his fingers over Eames’ snaggletooth.  

 

Arthur then grew a little braver and ran both of his hands through Eames’ hair, and it was soft, much softer than Arthur’s own hair. Eames closed his eyes at the contact and it took everything in Arthur’s power to control his breathing.

 

He didn’t want to sound like Darth Vader.

 

Eames then pulled Arthur’s hands away from his hair and just held them. His fingers were so soft and warm. It made Arthur feel safe.

 

They laid there for what seemed like an eternity, holding hands and staring at each other.

 

“Michael told me he was gay today.” Arthur said quietly.  Eames’ eyes widened.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“So, are you going to go for him now?”

 

“No. I told you earlier, I am not in love with him anymore.”

 

“Did you tell him that?”

 

“I did.” Eames was silent for a bit. “I told him I was in love with someone else.”

 

“And who is this special someone?” Eames asked. Arthur smiled and cuddled in closer.

 

“When I first moved here, I regretted it. I hated it and all I wanted to do was move back to where I was. To my old town. I had friends there. I had a life there. Michael was there. I had the ideal life. Here was hell. I was bullied, I had no friends, and it was horrible. But then you came and everything was better. You helped me make friends and to enjoy my time here. My life was happier knowing that you were around. You are everything I ever wanted in a friend, but you are also everything I ever wanted in a companion.”

 

“Arthur….”

 

“Before I told you that I didn’t know what I felt for you. I know now. Seeing Michael put everything in perspective for me. He was just an idea. I liked the idea of him, but in reality, I don’t think I ever really did love him. Seeing him again and not feeling anything made it clear to me that I only loved one man. And that man is you.” Eames’ eyes widened. “And it kills me knowing that I can never really ever have you.”

 

Eames pulled Arthur’s hand up and placed it on his cheek. Arthur saw a tear roll down and it was the first time Arthur had ever seen Eames cry.

 

“You can have me tonight.” Eames whispered. Arthur nodded and leaned over till his lips touched Eames’.

 

This was the first time Arthur had ever kissed anyone. And it was perfect. It was gentle and soft and everything that was them. All their feelings were poured out in this one kiss.

 

Eames slowly wrapped his arm around Arthur’s waist and pulled him to him till his body was touching Eames’ everywhere it could. Arthur wrapped his arms around Eames’ neck, deepening the kiss.

 

It was everything Arthur had dreamed of and more. This is what real love felt like.

 

It was Arthur who pulled away first. He opened his eyes and smiled at Eames who smiled back just as big.

 

“I love you Arthur.” Eames whispered as he pulled him into a tight embrace.

 

“I love you too.” Arthur rested his head on Eames’ chest as he closed his eyes, just listening to the sound of Eames’ breathing.

 

It wasn’t much, but this was the best night of Arthur’s life, being able to be this close to Eames, knowing that it was real and not a dream.

 

But Arthur knew it wouldn’t last. In the morning, things would be back to the way it was before. And Eames would be gone soon.

 

But he didn’t need to think about all that. Not now. Right now, all that mattered was that Eames was in his arms, and that he was there, and that he loved Arthur.

 

Too bad that would never be enough.

 

Arthur felt a tear roll down his cheek.

* * *

 

It’s a weird feeling, actually waking up in someone’s arms. Arthur had never experienced it before, but he liked it. He looked up and saw Eames smiling at him.

 

“Did you sleep well?” Eames asked as he brushed back a few strands of hair that was covering Arthur’s face.

 

“Yeah. Have a really bad headache now, but it was good.” Eames gave a little chuckle.

 

“Did you dream?”

 

“Didn’t have to when my dreams were actually real.” Eames just smiled and pulled him up for another kiss. Arthur tried to deepen but Eames pulled away and pushed him off, getting off the bed.

 

“We need to talk.” Arthur sat up, his smile slowly falling from his face.

 

“About what?”

 

“I am leaving.”

 

“When?”

 

“Tomorrow.” Arthur was upset, to say the least. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t think.

 

“Wha..how…why?” Arthur asked.

 

“You know why. You knew this day was coming. I prolonged my leaving long enough now.” And he was right. But Arthur was still a little mad about the whole timing of this.

 

“So, you give me the best night of my life and then just leave?”

 

“I wanted to give you something special.”

 

“Did it mean anything to you?” Arthur asked. It was a miracle that he kept his voice down. But if he was able to just leave after that, then who knows what Eames’ true feelings were.

 

“Last night meant the world to me. It was the best night of my life. I have never felt this close to anyone before and it kills me to leave you, but I can’t stay.”

 

“Why can’t you stay?” Arthur wasn’t even aware that he was crying until he heard his voice. Eames just looked at him like he was in pain, like seeing Arthur physically made him hurt.

 

“Because you don’t need me anymore.”

 

“I do need you. I need you all the time.” Eames walked over to him and went to place a hand on his cheek but Arthur didn’t feel it. It went right through him. Arthur let out another sob as he tried to touch Eames but he couldn’t. “Eames…” He cried out but Eames just took a step back.

 

“I will be back tonight.”

 

“Don’t go. Please.” Arthur sobbed out, but it was too late. Eames had disappeared. Arthur fell back on his bed and cried into his pillow.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a little mention of suicide, just in case any one has issues with that.

Arthur didn’t move when there was knock on his door. Nor did he say anything. Truth is, he couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. Not right now.

 

“Arthur?” It was his mom. He gave a small grunt to let her know he was still alive. That was all that he could do. But at least it was something. He did not need to deal with his yelling at him for making her think he was dead. He heard the door open. “Arthur? Are you alright? You didn’t come down for breakfast.”

 

“I’m not hungry.” Arthur murmured out and was shocked to hear his own voice. It sounded awful and he knew it gave him away that he had been crying.

 

“Arthur, sweetie, what’s the matter?” He heard his mom walk over and sit down next to him on the bed. “Are you sick?” She reached out and pushed his bangs from his face and let out a small sigh. He knew his eyes were probably red and puffy from crying all morning. “Sweetie, what happened?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“Did something happen at this party?”

 

“No.” Arthur said as he rolled over.

 

“Arthur. I am your mother. You can tell me anything, you know that you can.”

 

“I can’t tell you this.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because you wouldn’t understand.”

 

“If someone has hurt you, I have the right to know.”

 

“No one hurt me mom.” At least not in the physical sense.

 

“Alright. But, please, if you need to talk, know that your father and I are always here to help you.”  He felt her stand up off the bed and walk towards the door. “You need to eat something.” She said as she walked out of the room.

 

Arthur rolled over and stared at his ceiling. He didn’t want to eat. He didn’t want to do anything. He just wanted to sit and wallow all day. He didn’t know what he was going to do tomorrow.

 

Eames wasn’t even permanently gone yet and he felt like he was dead inside. He knew it was absurd. He was only a teenager, what did he know about love?

 

But he felt complete with Eames. And having him be gone was going to destroy him. He just knew it.

 

He sighed and rolled over, pulling the blankets over him again, blocking out the sun that was now shining through his window and went back to sleep.

* * *

 

Of course he was plagued with nightmares. And they ranged from the end of the world to alien abductions, but in every one of them, Eames was there. He was there for Arthur to help him, but at the last moment, Eames would back off and disappear.

 

He was woken up by his mom shaking him.

 

“Arthur!” She shouted. He opened his eyes and sat up. It was dark out and he smelt food. He glanced over and saw a small plate sitting on his nightstand with a sandwich on it.

 

“Why did you shout at me?” He asked as he noticed his father standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face.

 

“You were shouting Arthur.” His father added.

 

“Oh.” He said as he looked around. “Sorry.” His mother looked around nervously and Arthur realized he must have said something troublesome in his sleep. “What?”

 

“Is it this Eames person? Is he the reason you are so upset?” Arthur’s eyes widened.

 

“Why would you think that?”

 

“You were screaming his name so the whole house could hear you.” Arthur pulled his knees up to his chest.

 

“I was just dreaming.”

 

“Did he do something to you?”

 

“Of course not.” Arthur whispered. “Can I be alone, please?” He asked. His mother sighed and stood back up.

 

“Alright. But you need to eat.” Arthur nodded as she bent down and kissed him on the forehead.

 

After they left, he lay back down on the bed and stared out his window.  It was a beautiful clear night. The moon was out and you could see hundreds of stars. It seemed so ironic that it would be this beautiful on such a sad day in his life. When you are depressed, it is supposed to be crappy out, not beautiful.

 

“You should really eat your sandwich before it gets cold.” Arthur bolted up and saw Eames sitting in the chair by his desk. He had a neutral look on his face so Arthur tried to match it. He didn’t want to show much emotion but he knew it wouldn’t last long. “It smells delicious.” Eames added with a small smile on his face.

 

“I’m not hungry.” Arthur said curtly, anger filling him as Eames sat there acting normal and not like he was leaving forever.

 

“You have been lying in here, all day, wasting away. Why?”

 

“You know why.”

 

“No. I don’t. Please, explain it to me.”

 

“Are you being serious right now? You are leaving me Eames. How am I supposed to react? Throw a fucking party?”

 

“No. I didn’t know how you would react. I was unsure of your feelings.” Was he really being serious right now?

 

“I told you I loved you. Did you think I was lying?”

 

“I didn’t know. You could have been saying it for my benefit.” Eames said as he looked down at his fingers, fidgeting with his pants.

 

“Well I wasn’t.” Arthur turned and lay back down and curled up in his blankets, facing away from Eames.  He closed his eyes as he felt a fresh batch of tears roll down his cheek. When he opened them up again, Eames was lying next to him, looking at him with a look of pity on his face.

 

“You don’t need to cry for me Arthur. I will always be with you through your memories. As long as you just remember me, I will always be with you. And I will always be watching over you.” Arthur let out a small sigh.

 

“It’s not the same Eames, you know that.” Eames was silent for a bit. Arthur just stared at him, trying to memorize everything about him, right down to the very last eyelash. He didn’t want to forget this face, ever.

 

“You will move on Arthur. In time. You can’t do this to yourself. Torture yourself with what you think could have been. It will only end in disaster.”

 

“Why not? Why can’t I? It is my life.”

 

“Because I don’t want you to end up like me.”

 

“Like you? How would I know anything about you? You never tell me anything about your life.”

 

“I will tell you now, if you want. Ask me anything.” Arthur stared at him for a bit before moving closer.

 

“Are you an angel?” He asked. He didn’t quite remember asking this before, but he did remember that Eames was vague on the details on what exactly he was. Only that he helped children out, which was about as vague as you can get.

 

“No.” Eames answered quickly. “I am definitely not that.”

 

“Then what are you? How are you here now? You said you died. But you aren’t exactly a ghost.”

 

“I did die. I am part of a group of people that are trying to repay a debt by helping others.”

 

“Why?”

 

“When I died, I got the choice to both go to hell and suffer or to repay my debt for a chance at a better life. I chose the chance at a better life. I may never get it, but there is always hope.”

 

“Does everyone get this choice?”

 

“No.”

 

“What made you so special then?”

 

“I don’t know why I was so special. Maybe it was how I died or the reason behind it.”

 

“I don’t get it.” Arthur asked, sitting up a bit. “You were sent to hell, I mean, I’m not an expert, but only certain things send you straight to hell. Did you kill yourself or something?” Eames was silent. Arthur looked over and saw that Eames was looking at the bed and avoiding eye contact. “Did you kill yourself?” Arthur asked again. Eames not answering definitely meant a yes. “Did you think I would do that?” Arthur asked since Eames had brought up he was afraid Arthur would end up like him. Did he really think Arthur would kill himself over this? Arthur may be upset, but killing himself was quite drastic, even for him.

 

“You are so much different than me Arthur, you are much stronger. But you never know. I never thought I would.”

 

“Jesus. I wouldn’t do that. I don’t think I could, to be honest. But why did you? Did something happen? I mean, what would make you do that?” Eames pulled himself from the bed and walked over to the window.

 

“I was your age, alone and confused.” He said quietly. “I was bullied all throughout school because I was a scrawny thing and couldn’t fight back. Even at home things were bad. My parents hated me. I was the mistake of the family. My sister was the favorite. She didn’t even like me. I was never good enough, no matter what I did.”

 

“So, what happened?” Arthur asked because he knew that something must have caused him to do it. Having a horrible family isn’t the main thing, that would help, but something else caused him to finally do it.

 

“His name was James. We had classes together and we played sports together. Well, he played, but I was always on the bench.”

 

“You had a crush on this James?” Arthur asked, scooting closer to the edge of the bed.

 

“Yes, but I was so confused and conflicted. I had no one to talk to about it. You didn’t say things like that back then Arthur. You would be killed if you came out with something like that, at least in my neighborhood and definitely in my family.”

 

“How long ago was this?” Arthur asked.

 

“It doesn’t matter.” It did matter. How long has Eames been repaying his debt for something he will probably never get?

 

“Eames…”

 

“So, I kept my feelings a secret for most of the year. Then, I finally confessed to him.” Arthur’s eyes widened.

 

“You did?”

 

“Yep, cornered him when we were alone and told him I liked him.”

 

“What did he do?”

 

“He freaked out. Punched me and ran off. Of course, he had to tell everyone about it. He told his friends, his teachers, even the principal. No one was left out. It was hell at school. And then one day, I come home, and my parents yelled at me saying that I am a disgrace to them and to our entire family and that I am no longer a son to them.” Eames choked out. Arthur just sat frozen in his spot.

 

No wonder Eames ever talked about this. Arthur let Eames be silent for a bit, to pull himself together.

 

“So, that night, I locked myself in my room with my dad’s gun he kept in case we were attacked and I shot myself.” The room was silent. Arthur felt like he couldn’t breathe.

 

“You shot yourself?” Arthur choked out.

 

“Yes. My mother was the one who found me. They said her screams could be heard all the way down the street. They had a small funeral. It was funny. Everyone at school had made fun of me, but they could all come to my funeral and shed tears like they were my best friend.” Eames turned and looked at him. Arthur could see the tear stains on his cheeks.

 

“I’m so sorry Eames.”

 

“It is all in the past now.” Arthur took a deep breath before standing up.

 

“So, you help boys who are struggling with the same thing you did. Is that it?”

 

“No. I stay away from things like that. But I did help the boys who were lonely or were bullied. But you, you were different Arthur. You caught my attention and I couldn’t hold back.” Eames reached up and attempted to touch Arthur, but stopped right before he would have touched his face. Arthur closed his eyes and let a stray tear fall. “There is no need to cry for me Arthur.” Arthur opened his eyes.

 

“I wish I would have known you when you were alive.” Eames smiled.

 

“You and me both, Arthur.”

* * *

 

Arthur and Eames stayed up all night talking about the most trivial things. Eames told his bad jokes and Arthur always laughed. It didn’t matter if they weren’t even funny. He laughed because he knew it made Eames smile and that was enough.

 

“What is your name?” Arthur asked. Eames just laughed.

 

“I told you, its Eames. Don’t me you have forgotten my name already.”

 

“No, silly. I meant your real name.” Arthur said with a small smile.

 

“What makes you think that Eames isn’t my real name?”

 

“Well, it could be. I just want to hear your whole name. The name you were given when you were born.” Eames just looked at him. “Come on, you know mine.”

 

“Fine. It’s Fredrick Eames Thomas.”

 

“Fredrick?” Arthur said with a big smile.

 

“Yeah, my parents were not kind to me, as you can see, with a name like that.”

 

“Well, I like it. I think it is sexy.” Eames laughed at that.

 

“Sexy?” Eames turned and looked at him. “You must be sleep deprived if you think Fredrick is a sexy name.”

 

“I am not sleep deprived.”

 

“Yes you are, Arthur.” Arthur let out a small yawn. “You need to sleep.”

 

“But you are leaving me. I want to spend all the time I can with you.”

 

“I know. But you need to sleep before your body shuts down. Just know that I love you and I will always love you, forever and ever. Never forget that.” Arthur gave him a big sleepy smile.

 

“I love you too.” Arthur whispered as he closed his eyes.

 

“Goodbye Arthur.” Eames whispered and Arthur could have sworn he felt someone kiss his forehead but he was too tired to really process things.

 

And when he woke up, Eames was gone. And he didn’t appear again. Arthur was sad, but somehow, he wasn’t as sad as he thought he would be. He missed Eames, but knowing that he was still out there, watching him, made things a little bit better.

* * *

 

Arthur sat at the park with his sketchbook by the same tree he and Eames had their first real conversation that wasn’t in his bedroom. He hadn’t been here in forever.

 

It had been a month since Eames had left and Arthur was doing well. There were some nights where Arthur stayed in bed all day because he felt awful and really missed Eames. But the next day he was back to normal.

 

His parents knew something was wrong, but they had given up on asking since Arthur never told him anything. They knew Arthur would get over it on his own, he just needed time.

 

Ariadne and Robert were back from their cruise, so at least he had them to hang out with. Yusuf came around every so often. So, Arthur wasn’t as alone as he could have been.

 

As for Arthur’s sketchbook, he had bought it right after Eames left and begun on his drawing of Eames. He worked on it every day, drawing a new detail from his memory each day. He wasn’t the best artist, but he knew that this picture would be a work of art.

 

Since he didn’t have any pictures of Eames, he wanted something so he could always remember him. Not that he would forget, but he wanted something on paper.

 

Arthur had even done some research on Fredrick Thomas. He found out that Eames was raised in the 60’s in London. He was buried there too. Arthur hoped that some day, he would be able to go there and visit his grave and pay his respects to him. Eames deserved it.

 

But right now he didn’t have the money so that visit would just have to wait.

 

Dom and Mal came back in August right as Arthur was packing up and getting ready to leave for New York. Arthur went and saw them, but they were also preparing for college, so Arthur didn’t get to see too much of them.

 

“Arthur, sweetie, are you ready?” His mother said as she walked into his now vacant room.

 

“Yeah.” Arthur said as he glanced around. His mom let out a small sigh.

 

“I can’t believe you are moving out.” Arthur smiled.

 

“It is only temporary. I will be back in the summer.”

 

“True, but still. New York is so far away.”

 

“Well, you and dad can always come and visit me. You know, for a short vacation.”

 

“Very true.” Arthur smiled at her as she pulled him into a hug. “I am so proud of you Arthur. You have overcome so much this year.”

 

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it weren’t for you guys and my friends.” Arthur said with a smile. And Eames. Eames was his main support system this year.

 

“Well, let’s go. Your father is waiting.” Arthur nodded and walked with her out to the car.

 

The drive was long but worth it. Seeing the campus was amazing. It is something to just see it, but seeing it as an actual student was a completely different experience.

 

Arthur’s dad drove to the dorms and started unpacking everything. Arthur’s mom took Arthur up to his room. Arthur had a dorm room by himself. He liked his space and wanted a room to himself. He had a suitemate that was also by himself, so hopefully they would become friends.

 

Arthur was a little bit afraid that he wouldn’t make any friends and it would be like senior year all over again.

 

As his father carried all the boxes in, his mother was unpacking all of them. Arthur opened up a box that he knew had all of his dream journals in them. The one on top was a black notebook with the word Eames scribbled in it. Arthur smiled as he ran his hand over it.

 

This notebook contained every single dream Arthur had ever had about Eames. And Arthur was still adding to it. He still dreamed about Eames. But they weren’t sad dreams anymore. They were happy ones. Memories.

 

“Who is this?”

 

“Who is who?” Arthur asked as he turned around and looked at her. She was holding up the picture Arthur had drawn of Eames, which was now framed. He had finished it not too long ago and immediately framed it. It had been sitting on his nightstand at home. Every morning he woke up looking at Eames’ smiling face.

 

“That is Eames.”

 

“Eames? You mean the Eames we never got to meet?” Arthur smiled.

 

“Yes, that Eames.”

 

“He is a good looking fellow.” His mom said with a smirk. Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed the picture and set it on his desk. His mom just laughed as his father brought in the final box.

 

After Arthur was all unpacked, his parents said their goodbyes. His father gave him a nice long hug and a sad smile and walked out. His mother burst into tears and wouldn’t let him go. His father had to come back in and drag her away.

 

When they were gone, Arthur sat down on his bed and let out a small sigh.

 

He was officially on his own. He let out a small smile. And he knew he was going to be alright.

* * *

 

_10 Months Later:_

 

Arthur walked up the hill leading up to the cemetery. He was in an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was all buzzed off and his glasses were gone. It was amazing how one year of college had changed him.

 

In his hand, he held a small bouquet of white lilies. He wasn’t good at flower picking but he thought these were pretty so he had bought them to bring out here. They were fake, since he brought them from America. But it was the thought that really counted.

 

In his other hand were the directions to the grave he had gotten from the caretaker.

 

Once he reached the top, he let out a small sigh. This cemetery was huge. He looked down at the paper and went the way that the directions stated.

 

He messed up once, but he finally found the spot.

 

Once he saw the tombstone, he stopped. It was very plain grey stone. Figured Eames parents wouldn’t put much effort to it. He walked up to it and knelt down as he read it.

 

_Fredrick Eames Thomas_

_September 15, 1949- April 6, 1966_

Arthur gave a small smile as he set the flowers down in front of the tombstone.

 

“Hey Eames.” Arthur said with a smile. “It’s me. It feels weird talking to you like this. I came because I told myself I would. I am doing quite well. I really like college and I have made some amazing friends. I still see my other ones as well. I miss you. Every day I wake up and wonder how I will get through the day without you, but then I realize that you are watching over me, and it gets me through. I hope you are enjoying yourself wherever you are and are helping someone else to live a better life.” Arthur took a deep breath and fought back the tears. “I love you Eames. I wish you were here with me right now.” Arthur let out a small sigh and stood up. “Goodbye Eames.” He said as he backed up and started walking away.

 

He glanced over and saw the tombstone that belonged to Eames’ parents. They were both dead of course and they even listed their children, well, child. Eames’ sister, Sarah, was the only one listed on there.

 

Her tombstone was on the other side. She was dead as well. She died not too long ago. Arthur sighed. Eames deserved so much better than what he got. He turned and glanced back at Eames’ grave.

 

“I really hope you get that second chance Eames. You deserve it more than anyone.” Arthur glanced around the cemetery one last time before making his leave.

 

He could go on with his life right now. This was the closure that he needed. Sure it wasn’t perfect because Eames would always be in his heart and his memories, but he couldn’t keep waiting for something to happen. Eames was not coming back.

 

Eames would want him to remember him but to move on. And that was exactly what Arthur was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the epilogue left!


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final part!

_5 Years Later:_

 

Arthur walked up to the church and made his way down the hallways to the small room that was reserved for Dom and his groomsmen, in Dom’s case, it was just Arthur.

 

It was weird being back here. He hadn’t been home in a long time. Usually his parents came and visited him in New York. But the wedding was being held here since this was where they had met.

 

Arthur walked into the room and found Dom sitting in a chair, reading a book. Arthur gave a small chuckle and Dom looked up.

 

“Arthur!” He said as he stood up. Arthur smiled and walked all the way in and closed the door.

 

“I see you are quite relaxed.”

 

“This is just a mask. I am really shaking and screaming on the inside.” Dom said with a small laugh.

 

“Well, you might want to start getting dressed then. Mal would kill you if you walked down the aisle in sweatpants.” Arthur said as he turned and started getting Dom’s tux ready.

 

Yes, today was the day that Dom and Mal were finally getting married. They have been engaged for two years now but they had waited until Mal finished school and got a job. Dom was still in school, but he wanted to be an architect, so he would be in school for a while. And Mal didn’t want to wait that long.

 

But Mal finished school and got a job as an elementary school teacher. And she was happy. Mal loved kids, so getting to work with them every day made her so much happier.

 

After Dom was dressed, the pastor walked in and started talking to Dom about all the minor details with the wedding and what exactly was going to happen and all that. There may have even been a prayer in there somewhere. Arthur didn’t really pay much attention to them; instead he took that time to get himself ready.

 

As he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help but notice how much he had grown since high school. He was taller and had more muscle now. He was tired of being the lanky kid all the time, so once in college, he worked out a lot and got his body in shape. Of course, he didn’t overdo it, but it was obvious that he was bigger now.

 

He wore his contacts all the time but he always had his glasses just in case. He really only wore them when he was having a bad day, or finals week back in school.

 

His hair was now all short and it suited him perfectly. He put some gel in it today but usually he let it do whatever it wanted to do. Sometimes he would get this weird curl but there was really nothing he could do about it. His hair had a mind of its own.

 

It was so weird being an adult now. It just felt different. Dom was on his way to being an architect, as was Ariadne. Mal was a teacher. Yusuf was off getting his doctorate in chemistry and was probably going to invent some cool chemical that would change the world forever. Robert worked for his father’s company and would soon he inheriting it since his father was quite ill. And Saito, well, he was back in Tokyo working for a company that was growing bigger by the second. There were even rumors that Saito was trying to take over the company.

 

As for Arthur, well, he was just a journalist trying to make it big in New York. Typical dreams but it was enough for Arthur. He had graduated with his bachelor’s degree at the top of his class and went on to get his masters, also top of his class. Right after graduation, he got the job working for a magazine. It was all Arthur could really hope for.

 

He got to write, which he loved, and the best part was that he got to write about anything he wanted to. He usually wrote about dreams. He wrote about the research being done and the technology involved with it. He even sometimes wrote about his own experiences. And people loved his articles. It was all Arthur could ever hope for.

 

Arthur was even in the process of writing a book. He had been writing it all throughout college and he was still writing it. But it was going to be long. It was all about Eames, but not directly. He would write about his experiences but write it in a way that would get people’s attention and in a way that would make it sell.

 

But he wanted it to be perfect, which was why it has taken him so long to get it done. But he was getting close. The ending was the problem. Arthur didn’t know how he wanted it to end. Did he want to keep it real or make it the fairy tale ending that he never got?

 

“You ready?” Dom asked, bringing him from his thoughts. Arthur smiled and nodded.

 

“Yes. Are you?” Arthur asked. Dom just laughed.

 

“Yeah. I am marrying the woman I love. It can’t get much better than that.” Arthur just nodded and walked with him towards the altar. The pastor was leading the way. “By the way, sorry about Alan.” Dom whispered. Arthur just nodded.

 

“It is quite alright. It just wasn’t meant to be. I’m not heartbroken about it.” Arthur had been in quite a serious relationship with a history teacher, Alan Matthews. They met through Mal and Arthur fell head over heels for this man. He was tall with black hair and bright blue eyes. He was nice and had a great sense of humor. They had been together for almost two years.

 

And then, things went to shit. Alan became jealous of something that wasn’t even happening, in other words, Eames. Arthur never mentioned him besides with his book. Alan knew that his book was based on a real person and Arthur was sure that he knew about Arthur’s feelings towards him. But Alan never said anything about it.

 

Alan did want things to be more serious with the possibility of getting married and perhaps even the possibility of adopting, something Arthur didn’t want.

 

Well, that was wrong. Arthur did want it, just not with Alan. There was only one person he would want that with and they were gone. So they got in fights all the time until Arthur finally called things off and kicked Alan out of his apartment.

 

As Arthur stood next to Dom, he looked around at all of the guests. He spotted Ariadne sitting next to Robert and Yusuf. She gave him a small wave. Arthur just smiled at her. He spotted Saito sitting in the back with some woman. Arthur didn’t want assume that they were together or anything. Knowing Saito, you never quite know who it could end up being. Arthur thought he heard that Saito was married, but he wouldn’t put it past him to have mistresses.

 

Arthur thought he even spotted Nash in the pews. Arthur thought that was weird, but he and Dom were somewhat friends in high school and could have been friends still. Arthur thought he remembered Dom saying something about Nash going into architecture too.

 

Arthur straightened up when he heard the music begin. The wedding party just consisted of Dom, Mal, Arthur, and Mal’s sister, Marie. Speaking of which, she started to make her walk down the aisle.

 

Marie was very beautiful, but not as beautiful as Mal. Marie was younger but she did share some of the same features of Mal. She had long brown hair and the bright brown eyes. Her hair was all pulled up with a couple strands surrounding her face. She smiled at the people in the pews and Arthur could definitely tell that she and Mal were related. She had that grace that Mal had that made them look so flawless.

 

Marie was wearing a floor length strapless coral dress with a simple bouquet of white roses. She walked up to the altar and smiled at Dom and Arthur before taking her spot on the other side of the altar. Arthur looked over as the doors opened up again. He smiled as he saw Mal begin her walk down the aisle, escorted by her father.

 

Arthur was never too fond of Mal’s dad. He just looked mean but Dom said he was alright. He taught at a school in Paris and taught Dom a little bit about architecture. Arthur had met Mal’s father, Miles, a few times and he really had no desire to meet him much more.

 

Mal looked amazing. She was in a lace gown that hugged her body in all the right places but still held a little bit of modesty. Her hair was down and in loose curls that cupped her face. She looked beautiful.

 

Mal was beaming as she looked at Dom. Arthur glanced over and saw Dom smiling at Mal like he was luckiest man in the world. And Arthur knew that really, Dom was. Mal was an amazing woman, any man would be jealous of Dom right now. Arthur had to admit that he was a little envious, not exactly of marrying Mal per se, but if he had been interested in women, he would have wanted to marry a woman as wonderful as Mal.

 

Miles gave Mal a small kiss before letting her walk up to the altar to meet Dom.

 

Arthur just smiled as he watched two of his best friends enjoy what would probably be one of the happiest days of their lives.

* * *

 

Arthur sat down at the wedding party table next to Dom. He would occasionally look around and Ariadne would smile at him and try and make him feel better but it didn’t really work. Arthur was just tired and wanted to go home.

 

But he was going to be here till the end of the whole reception. He had to be here for Dom and Mal.

 

So, when it came time to give his speech, he grabbed his cup of champagne and stood up.

 

“Hey everyone.” He said, getting everyone’s attention. “My name is Arthur and I have been friends with Dom for almost six years now, maybe seven. It seems the years all mold together so I am not sure at the moment.” The guests gave a little laugh which made Arthur feel a tad bit better. “I first met Dom when I moved here my senior year in high school. And I was so lost and lonely. I was the new kid, afraid to make new friends. Dom was the first person to actually talk to me. We had a project to do for English class. And when I met Dom, I of course met Mal. And I knew, right then, that these two were meant to be together. They were perfect for each other then and they are perfect for each other now. I cannot think of two people who deserve each other more than Dom and Mal. So, here is to wishing you both a wonderful marriage full of many years of happiness and joy.” Arthur toasted his cup and took a sip as the guests did the same. Dom stood up and pulled Arthur into a big hug. Mal was crying as she pulled Arthur into a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

 

After that, Arthur was allowed to wander around and do what he wanted. He grabbed himself a beer and walked around a bit as Dom and Mal shared their first dance as a married couple.

 

“Hey Arthur!” He tensed up at the familiar voice. After so many years it still frightens him. He turned around slowly and saw Nash walking towards him. He still looked as greasy as ever.

 

“Hey Nash.” Arthur said quietly.

 

“Hey, look. I know you have every reason to hate me, but, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for how I treated you. It was wrong. I mean, you could have been so depressed and killed yourself and then I would have felt really bad and I just wanted to say how sorry I am for making your life miserable.” Arthur was just staring at him, dumfounded. What caused this change of heart?

 

“Oh, um, well, thanks, Nash. That means a lot to me.” Nash gave him a small smile before he backed away and went to the other side of the room. Arthur just shrugged and walked over to the table that Robert and Yusuf were sitting at. Ariadne had gone to get drinks. Arthur had seen her leave so he knew she would be back. “Hey guys.” He said as he sat down.

 

“Arthur!” Yusuf said with a smile. Arthur just smiled as he took a drink.

 

“Arthur, glad you decided to come over.” Ariadne said as she sat down, handing out drinks to everyone.

 

“You took a while.” Robert said as he took his drink.

 

“Yeah, I met the most charming British man at the bar.” Arthur looked over at her before glancing back at the dance floor.

 

“And he stole your affections?” Yusuf asked.

 

“Well, he was pretty charming, but I don’t think he was for me.” Arthur glanced over and saw that Ariadne was now staring at him.

 

“What is that look for?” Arthur asked.

 

“Well, Mr. newly single, you should go chat him up.”

 

“Chat him up?” Arthur said with a little laugh. “Um, I haven’t been single for that long. I am not desperate.”

 

“Arthur, this man is entirely your type. You should at least give it a try.”

 

“Really now?”  Arthur said with another laugh. “What if this man is straight?” Ariadne just gave him a look.

 

“You will never know unless you try.”

 

“No.” Arthur said, taking another drink of beer. “If he deems me attractive enough, he will come to me. I am tired to being so upfront all the time.” Ariadne let out a small sigh and turned back to Robert who just shrugged.

 

Arthur just leaned back and glanced over at the dance floor. Mal and Miles were now dancing to the father daughter dance. He could feel Ariadne’s eyes on him but he just ignored it and took another drink.

 

It was a wedding after all, might as well enjoy it and get drunk. It had been ages since the last time he had been drunk.

* * *

 

Arthur was sitting at the table when another slow song came on. It was like high school all over again with Arthur having no one to dance with.

 

He jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Mal standing there with her hand stretched out. He smiled and stood up and took it. She led him out to the dance floor. He pulled her close and slowly started dancing to the music with her. She just smiled at him.

 

“You are smiling like you know a secret.” Arthur said.

 

“Maybe I do.” She said with a big smile. Arthur just shook his head as they swayed to the music.

 

“So, how does it feel to be Mrs. Cobb?” He asked.

 

“It feels pretty damn good.” Arthur let out a little chuckle as he glanced around the room. His eyes then found the shape of a familiar person. He stopped moving immediately as he stared at the figure.

 

It was Eames.

 

He had aged. Arthur could see that. He had filled out quite a bit. He had a bit more muscle on him and he was tanner. His hair was gelled back in the way that Arthur hated. But he was wearing a nice pair of slacks and a light blue button up shirt that had the first few buttons unbuttoned.

 

Arthur just stood there, staring at Eames. He even closed his eyes and looked back to see if he was hallucinating. But Eames was still there. He lifted his glass in a toast.

 

“Do you see him?” Mal whispered. Arthur looked down and saw her smiling at him.

 

“You know who Eames is?” Arthur asked.

 

“I met him in Paris this past summer. I saw him and recognized him from your drawing. And he seemed to know me as well because he came and talked with me first. We talked about you and about his life and how he knew you.” Arthur was just silent. “So, I invited him here so he could be reunited with you.”

 

“Mal…” Arthur choked out. He was so close to crying that it took all of his strength to keep himself in check.

 

“Go Arthur.” She said as she pulled away. “Go to him.” Arthur didn’t have to be told again. He slowly walked over to where Eames was standing. Eames just smiled at him throughout his whole walk over there. He didn’t want to look away, fearing that Eames would somehow disappear on him.

 

Arthur stopped a few feet in front of Eames. Eames was still standing there, smiling at him. Arthur wanted to go and tackle him to the ground, but there was a small part of Arthur that felt like if he did do that, Eames would disappear and Arthur would have made a big ass of himself by running straight into the wall.

 

“Arthur.” Eames said and Arthur actually felt his knees buckle. He gripped a chair to hold himself up. It has been so long since he had heard Eames’ voice. He had tried to remember it, but after so long, your mind can only do so much.

 

And his voice was just as perfect as it was back then.

 

“Are you real?” Arthur whispered out.

 

“Of course I am real, darling.” Eames took a step forward and placed his hand on the side of Arthur’s face. Arthur immediately reached up and placed his hand on top of Eames’. It was perfect and it felt just like it did before.

 

Arthur closed his eyes and he felt a stray tear roll down his cheek.

 

“Why are you crying?” Eames asked as he stepped even closer to Arthur. Arthur could feel Eames’ body touching his. He could feel Eames breathing on him and could even smell the cologne that Eames was wearing.

 

“This doesn’t seem real.” Arthur opened his eyes. “How are you here?” Eames smiled and grabbed his hand.

 

“Let’s take a walk and I shall explain everything to you.” Arthur just nodded and followed Eames outside in a daze.

* * *

 

They walked in silence for a few moments. Eames had led them towards the small garden that was behind the banquet hall that the reception was being held at. It was small, but beautiful none the less.

 

Arthur walked over and sat down on a little bench that was in front a small fountain. Eames slowly walked over and sat down next to him.

 

“So, what happened after you left?” Arthur asked. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it came out as a whisper.

 

“Well, when I left you, I got assigned another child.”

 

“Assigned?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, we pick the child, but we officially get assigned to them later. We have to be approved for them. So, I was with a boy named Greg. And Greg was nice. He was eleven and his parents had just gotten divorced so he had to move away to a different town and all that.” Arthur just looked at him. “It was almost like your story.”

 

“And then what?”

 

“Well, I was with Greg for a few years, up until he turned about sixteen. I think that is right. I was in transition for a long time. The years all blend together. I didn’t want another child but I had to. If I didn’t pick one, I would have one picked for me.” Eames was silent for a bit, letting this all soak in.

 

“Did you watch me at all, like you said you would?” Arthur whispered. He wanted to know that. Arthur had strived on the idea that Eames was always checking on him, making sure he was alright.

 

“Of course. I watched you in school and I even saw you visit my grave. That was very nice of you. Mostly though, when Greg was asleep, I would go and visit with you, just to watch you sleep. It kept me at peace with myself and gave me hope that someday we would be together.” Arthur gave him a small smile.

 

“So, Greg got too old and then you got assigned a new child?” Arthur asked.

 

“Not exactly. I said my goodbyes to Greg and left. But things were different. I can’t really explain it. I left but I didn’t go back to where I stayed. One moment I was in Greg’s room and the next I was in this white empty room. And it felt like I had been asleep for a long time and finally woke up. I realized that I was real. That I was alive.”

 

“So, just like that? You were alive?”

 

“Pretty much. I don’t remember much. I remember this man coming to speak with me, telling me that I had done my job and paid back my debt and now I was back on earth, as a human. He wouldn’t tell me where I was or even if I was still myself.”

 

“Still yourself?”

 

“Yeah. I could have been sent back to earth as someone new. Hell, I could have been reborn again for all I knew.”

 

“What happened next?” Arthur asked, scooting closer to Eames.

 

“I walked through the big door and found myself walking into my bedroom. Well, my old bedroom in my old house in London. I had been in the bathroom. Where I died was where I came back at. The house was abandoned, so I didn’t have to deal with the awkward lies on why I was in the bathroom. But I did look at myself in the mirror and found that I had aged a bit and was still myself. So that was nifty.”

 

“Where did you go then? If my math is correct, that gives you almost about a year before today.”

 

“Yeah, it does.” Eames said quietly as he looked up at the night sky, avoiding Arthur’s gaze.

 

“Why didn’t you come find me? Why wait till now? You wanted us to be together, you should have come and found me. Let me know that you were alive.” Eames let out a small sigh.

 

“I did find you Arthur. I got on the first plane I could get and I went to New York to find you.”

 

“But….I never saw you.” Eames looked over at him and smiled.

 

“I went to New York and I asked around to find you. Took me bloody forever, but I found your work which led me to your apartment. I was about to go there when I saw you. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling that came over me. I was about to shout for you when I saw your boyfriend, Alan.” Arthur’s face fell. Oh. “You two were holding hands and walking down the street, smiling and laughing. You looked so happy Arthur. I hadn’t seen you that happy since who knows when. Who was I to come between that?”

 

“You should have still told me you were back. Alan and I broke up because of you. I have always loved you. No one had even come close to how I felt about you. I dated Michael just to see what that was like and it was so boring and awkward that I ended it after a few months.”

 

“But what about Alan? Mal said that you two were in love. I could see the love in your eyes, Arthur.”

 

“I thought I was. But then he wanted to get married and adopt and it just hit me that I could never do any of that with anyone. The only man I have ever wanted that with was you and you were gone. I told Alan that I didn’t want that and he said he was okay with it, but he still pushed the problem so I called it off.”

 

“Oh.” Eames said quietly. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them just absorbing all the information.

 

“How did you meet Mal anyways?” Arthur asked after a few moments.

 

“After I saw you in New York, I decided to visit all of the places I never got to. It seemed like the thing to do.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah, I went to Italy, China, Japan, France.” Eames said with a smile. “I met Mal in Paris. I was walking down the street and I saw her. I knew it was her so I went up to her. I was just going to come up with some lie on how I knew you, but she figured it out. She didn’t really say it, but I knew she knew. I think she mentioned something about a drawing.” Arthur just laughed. “I want to see that drawing sometime.” Arthur just nodded.

 

“Alright. Someday.” Eames just smiled.

 

“So I ended up telling her my story and she told me about her wedding, which you were a part of and invited me to come. And now, here we are.” Arthur just stared at Eames for the longest time.

 

This all just seems too good to be true.

 

“Are you actually speechless, darling?” Eames asked, laughing lightly.

 

“Yeah. I mean, this all seems too good to be true. I feel like I am going to wake up any moment and realize that this was all just a dream.” Eames reached out and cupped Arthur’s face.

 

“I assure you Arthur that we are definitely not dreaming.” He then leaned forward and pressed his lips to Arthur’s in a gentle kiss. Arthur turned and placed his hand on top of Eames’ and kissed back.

 

After a few moments, Arthur pulled away and let out a small laugh as he rested his forehead against Eames’, catching his breath.

 

“So what happens now?” Arthur asked.

 

“Well, I assume this is where we ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.” Arthur laughed and shoved him in the arm.

 

“I am being serious, Fredrick.” Eames took a deep breath.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know Arthur. As long as I am with you, I am happy. I guess I will have to go to school and get a job. I have to get a lot of things actually, like a new birth certificate, social security card, and driver’s license. But besides all of that, I want to be with you. To me, that is all that matters. I want to make you happy.” Arthur smiled at him.

 

“As long as I am with you, I will be happy. We will make this work.” Eames smiled and pulled him into another kiss before standing up so abruptly Arthur almost fell off the bench.

 

“Come. I think we are overdue for a dance. I have wanted to dance with you since prom.” Arthur laughed and grabbed his hand and walked with him back into the reception.

* * *

 

Eames led Arthur to the dance floor and pulled him close. Arthur just smiled as he grabbed one of Eames’ hands and rested the other on his waist.

 

Arthur felt people staring at them, but he didn’t care, all he cared about was that Eames was smiling at him, dancing with him and just being Eames. The Eames he loved.

 

Arthur knew it wasn’t going to be easy, this new life with Eames. But it was all going to be worth it in end. He knew it. As long as Eames was with him, and as long as he existed, everything was going to be just fine.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you guys so much for reading this. I am really proud of this story because it was the first longer story that I wrote and everything. So all the positive stuff really makes me happy! So thanks again! =)

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the post.  
> http://courier-new.tumblr.com/post/20475063234


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